Here's the semi-promised sequel to "At Niagara Falls". It's not overly necessary to have read that first, unless you want to see the fluffy reunion scene. This is mostly fluff, except the flashbacks, which are all drama-ful and stuff. I have a couple of possible sequels to this planned; one about what went on in the Sanctuary after Nikola disappeared, and one about them getting Nikola back to his old self. Who knows which I'll do. Anyway, enjoy.
Disclaimer Only the plot is mine. And Dane, Siska, and Isis. I run a slave trade out of my basement, you see.
Nikola, Helen, and their son, Dane, returned to the hotel that Helen had booked. Nikola sat down on the bed, putting his head in his hands. Helen gave Dane a toy to play with before sitting down next to her husband and rubbing his back soothingly.
"Niko, what happened?" she questioned curiously.
"I – I don't want to talk about it. Especially not in front of Dane." Nikola leaned against Helen, looking as though he was about to fall asleep. Helen stood up and began taking off his shoes, and removed his jacket and tie. Lastly, she unbuttoned and took off his dress shirt, leaving him in just his undershirt and dress pants. Nikola helped as much as he could, but he was falling asleep where he was sitting, so he didn't manage to do too much. Helen helped him move into the bed and under the covers, kissing him lightly on the forehead as he drifted off to sleep. Once he was taken care of, Helen turned to their son, who was playing in a corner of the room.
"Dane, it's time for bed," she called quietly to him. The three-year-old stood and picked up his toys before walking over to his mother, who was waiting with a pair of pajamas. Once Helen had gotten the boy to go to sleep, (which took a while because his daddy had come back after being gone for six months and what little boy wouldn't be excited?) she climbed into bed next to Nikola and snuggled close to her husband, wrapping her arms around him and tucking his head under her chin. It was a while before she managed to get to sleep; a part of her was afraid that if she closed her eyes then she would wake up to find that this was all a dream.
Around three in the morning, Helen was awoken by thrashing in the bed next to her, and she opened her eyes to see Nikola clearly in the grips of a nightmare. Sliding closer, she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close to her, and whispering to him soothingly. After another minute, he began to calm down, though he was still shaking slightly.
Nikola woke up at around two the next afternoon to find Helen was sitting on the bed next to him, working on her laptop. Dane was nowhere to be seen, and Nikola furrowed his brow groggily.
"Where is Dane?" he questioned quietly, barely lifting his head.
"Henry arrived today. He and Dane went to a museum." Helen closed her laptop and moved so she was lying down next to her husband.
"Were you expecting Henry to come, or should I have a conversation with him about stalking us?" he inquired, lifting himself up to rest his head on one arm while his free hand gently began toying with a lock of her hair.
"I asked him to give us a day and then come down. I was worried about them." Helen chuckled lightly, mirroring Nikola's position and resting her free hand on his waist. "Where have you been, Niko?" She held Nikola's gaze, and he sighed as an involuntary shudder passed through his body.
"Can I…can I hold you?" Nikola's face shone with uncertainty, and Helen's heart broke a little bit. Whatever had happened must have been bad, if it had turned her normally over-confident and cocky vampire into an uncertain, scared little boy.
"You can always hold me, you know that." She leaned forward and pecked his lips softly before helping him to move so that he was leaning against the headboard. She rested her head on his chest, one hand resting over his heart while his arms wrapped around her and held her tightly. Helen listened to the rumble of his chest as he began to speak.
~Flashback~
Nikola had driven out to the store to buy some supplies; food and toiletries and the like. While he was driving back to the entrance to the tunnel that led to the new Sanctuary, a semi-truck in front of him suddenly turned and stopped, blocking the whole road ahead of him. Nikola slammed on the brakes to avoid slamming into the truck. As soon as he was stopped, several people wearing black shirts and pants with ski masks jumped out of a panel in the side of the truck, surrounding his car.
"Mr. Tesla, we don't want to hurt you, so exit your car slowly," one of the people commanded, as every member of the group aimed semi-automatics at him. Nikola raised his hands up to show he was unarmed as he slowly got out of his car.
"What can I do for you today? If you wanted to talk, I'm sure you have my number," he remarked, smirking. One of the men behind him shot his arm, and Nikola winced.
"It would be better if you cooperated and remained silent," remarked the man who had spoken before, who seemed to be their leader.
"I'm sure it would be for you," Nikola shot back cheekily. The leader gave his men a signal, and all thirty men started shooting him until his was unconscious. By the time he woke up, he had been bound, gagged, and thrown into the semi. Ten of the men stood around him, each with a gun in their hands, and a battery-operated lantern sat next to him, lighting up a small area.
"Nikola Tesla. You know, I studied you in school. They told us you died in '43. And yet here you are," a voice drawled from the shadows in a corner of the container. "I used to idolize you, before I learned that you are an abomination; the result of an experiment. And so I think I am going to experiment on you some more. After all, if you don't mind experimenting on yourself, I'm sure you won't mind if I do it." A woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and brown eyes walked out of the shadows to stand in front of Nikola. He struggled in an attempt to get free, only to realize that whatever they had bound him with was apparently vampire-proof. His eyes blackened as he glared at the woman.
"I am Doctor Siska Markussen." She told him, smiling. "And please, don't try to escape. Remember, we found you, we can find Helen. She can't hide forever." Siska watched him thoughtfully for a moment before reaching down and removing the gag. Nikola spat out the taste before once again glaring at his captor.
"Helen is dead. Or did you miss the fact that her house exploded with her inside?" He hissed, teeth bared.
"Is that so? You bought an awful lot of food for a vampire who doesn't eat and supposedly lives alone." Siska began circling Nikola, her gaze predatory.
"I run a food cupboard out of my living room," Nikola spat back. Siska chuckled.
"They told me you had spirit. This will make it much more fun. Now if you'll excuse me, Mr. Tesla, I have a car to toss off a bridge." She opened a small door on the side of the semi and stepped out onto the street outside. As soon as she closed the door, the truck rumbled to life and Nikola could feel it start to drive away.
~End Flashback~
Nikola's hold on Helen tightened, and he buried his face in her hair, breathing in her scent. A lot had happened to him since that day six months ago. He had no idea if he would ever be able to regain that confidence. Helen leaned up and pulled him into a kiss, resting her forehead against his.
"I'm here, darling," she whispered. Nikola leaned up to kiss her again, though his vulnerability and uncertainty showed through even in the way his lips moved against hers. "You know, we found your car the day after you disappeared. It was completely empty. We searched for months. But every search came up empty. We thought…we thought you were dead." Helen let out a choked sob, burying her face into his chest. Nikola kissed the top of her head, squeezing her gently.
"You mean you didn't think I had left?" he asked. Helen shifted so she could face him, her eyes wide.
"Of course not. What makes you think we would assume you'd left?" She reached up and gently cupped his face with one hand, stroking her thumb over his cheek.
"Because that's what they kept telling me."
~Flashback~
Nikola was lying on a lab table, his hands and feet bound to the table by the same material that had been used to bind him in the truck. By his estimation, he had been on that table for almost a week, and he'd been in the truck for four days. Siska would come in every day just after her lunch and experiment with different ways to kill him, tracking how long it took him to recover from each. His energy was beginning to wane; he was long overdue for a dose of his medicine, and with the added stress of having to heal himself time and again made the craving for blood almost overwhelming. Today, when Siska walked in, she was carrying a half-pint of blood with her, and Nikola had to fight not to sob in relief.
"Finally decided your pet needs food?" Nikola sneered, even as he subconsciously moved closer to the scent of blood.
"Mr. Tesla, my pets have the softest beds and eat food from five-star restaurants for every meal," Siska remarked. "Make no mistake; you are much lower than them." She snipped the top off of the bag of blood and held it over Nikola's mouth. He drank it hungrily, vamping out as he did.
"You won't be able to keep me here forever. Someone will come looking eventually," he stated once the blood was gone.
"I highly doubt that. You see, your 'family' thinks that you have run off, abandoned them. I heard Helen telling her friend Mr. Druitt all about it just last night." She let out a menacing laugh, and Nikola growled.
"Helen knows I would never leave her."
"Does she? It wouldn't be the first time." Siska tapped Nikola's hand as she walked around to his side, holding a large knife. She began cutting into Nikola's chest as she talked. "She probably expects it of you. In fact, your son has probably already been told to forget about you. Druitt would make a much better father than you anyway. So I would just give up. They're not going to bother looking for you. Especially since you didn't even leave a note or say good bye. Shame on you, Tesla. Shame on you." Nikola fought to hold in the tears as she cut his heart out figuratively and literally.
~End Flashback~
"I didn't want to believe it at first, but every day when she came in, she would tell me that you assumed I had walked out and had picked Druitt over me." Nikola turned his gaze towards the window, jumping slightly when he felt Helen's lips on his cheek.
"I chose you, and I will always choose you," she assured him, taking his hand in her own and playing with his wedding ring. "And I know that you will never leave." She brought his hand to her lips, kissing the ring as she looked up at Nikola. He pulled her closer, and fell asleep with his head burrowed into her neck. She stayed awake for a while longer, stroking his hair and breathing in his scent. Henry brought a sleeping Dane back to the room at eight, silently laying the boy in his bed, and tucking him in before glancing at Helen and Nikola, who were both sleeping, wrapped up together. He went to his own room, two doors down, and went to sleep himself.
Nikola woke up first the next morning, and he pulled himself out of bed, careful not to wake Helen, and went into the bathroom to take a shower. When he walked out in just his dress pants, his hair hanging limply over his face as it dried, Dane and Helen were sitting on Dane's bed, reading a book together. Nikola sat down beside his son, ruffling his hair lightly. Dane jumped in surprise then turned and tackled his father, who let out a laugh of joy.
"Good morning, Dane," he greeted, smiling.
"Tata!" the boy exclaimed, burrowing his face into Nikola's neck with his arms wrapped around Nikola's neck. At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and Nikola stood, lifting his son up as well, and walked over to let Henry in, who smiled in greeting as he walked in.
"Heinrich, good morning," Nikola greeted, smiling.
"Uncle Heny!" Dane turned slightly in his father's attempting to hug Henry without releasing his hold on Nikola's neck. Henry chuckled as he leaned forward, kissing the boy's forehead.
"Do you guys want me to take Dane for the day again?" he asked as he straightened and walked further into the room. Nikola turned to Helen, who had stood up from the bed to smile at Henry.
"If it wouldn't be too much trouble. Nikola and I still have some things to talk about," she responded. Nikola handed Dane over, placing a kiss on his son's forehead. Henry took Dane and carried him to the door, turning back to the husband and wife.
"If you'd like, I can keep him in my room tonight," he offered. Helen glanced at Nikola, who was looking at his feet, blushing faintly.
"That would be nice, Henry, thank you," she finally answered. Henry nodded and left, closing the door behind him. Helen walked over to Nikola, cupping his face. "We don't have to do anything you don't want to, dear," she assured him, stroking his cheeks with her thumbs. Nikola nodded as he leaned slightly into the touch. "Are you going to tell me how you escaped?"
"Yes." Nikola took her hand and led her to the bed, leaning against the headboard with her in his arms.
~Flashback~
By Nikola's reckoning, he had been in that room for six months. He hadn't been fed in two weeks, though whether that was on purpose or accident he would likely never know. When Siska walked in that day, he could smell the blood in her veins, and could hear her heartbeat, much louder than normal. He wanted nothing more than to sink his teeth into her, and for the first time, he struggled against the restraints. Siska chuckled when she noticed this.
"Have the last six months taught you nothing, Mr. Tesla?" she asked, stroking his cheek with the knife she was holding. With her that close, the smell of blood became overwhelming, and Nikola vamped out, lifting his head as much as possible against the restraints. Siska chuckled again, and suddenly her blade was in his shoulder, causing him to recoil from the pain.
"Remember, I take great pleasure in causing you pain," she stated, pulling the blade out to stab his leg, just below the knee. "So don't think you can be uncooperative and get away with it." She moved on to his other knee, and finally stabbed his right shoulder. The wounds healed almost immediately, and for the next hour or so, she continued the process, just walking around him and stabbing him in random places.
"You know, you really were one of the worst inventors ever. Did you know, most people don't even remember that you existed, much less what you did," she taunted. Nikola let out a broken sob as she stabbed his stomach.
"Please," he whispered, his eyes begging her. "I need blood."
"Did Nikola Tesla just beg me for something? Oh, how the mighty have fallen," Siska jeered, laughing. She leaned over him, placing her face just inches from his. "No." She laughed again, backing up and shoving the knife into Nikola's leg. Nikola turned his head to the side, staring at the bind on his right arm. He jiggled it slightly, needing to get free and get some blood. Suddenly Siska slammed the knife down directly in Nikola's line of vision, and he jumped in surprise. He looked up at her, his vision blurring as his hunger grew. She stabbed him one last time in the stomach, leaving the knife there as she left.
Three hours later, the door opened again, waking Nikola from the light doze he had managed to fall into. He craned his neck trying to see who had come in; whoever it was sure didn't smell like Siska, and no one else was allowed to enter his room. A woman with long, pin-straight black hair entered his vision, her brown eyes filled with worry.
"I am Isis. I apologize for Siska, she can get a little enthusiastic sometimes. She really was just supposed to test out a couple of theories before tossing you in a cell," the woman told him, pulling the knife out of his stomach. "I was supposed to arrive sooner, but I was held up by some things back near where you were captured. It is so difficult to find good help these days." Isis sighed as she moved to begin removing the straps from his arms. "I'll move you down to the dungeons now." Nikola remained perfectly still as his restraints were removed, and as soon as he was free he leapt at her, sinking his teeth into her neck. He drank hungrily until there was no blood left in her then stood and looked around.
He burst through the doors to the hallway, feeding on both of the guards that were there. With so much fresh blood flowing through him, he felt a burst of strength and speed and he moved through the hallways quickly, killing or feeding on everyone he passed. He reached the front entrance to find Siska standing in front of the door, a machete in one hand, and a gun in the other. He snarled and rushed towards her, fully intent on ripping her apart. He ignored the pain from the bullets she shot at him, and he flicked the machete away easily. In what felt like mere seconds, he was at her neck, drinking.
Once he was finally out, he walked to the nearest gas station and went into the bathroom to wash off some of the blood. Once he looked a little less like a serial killer, he went over to the counter, where the cashier was watching a football game on a portable television set. He barely glanced up as Nikola approached quietly.
"Excuse me, could you please tell me where I am?" he asked. The man looked at him like he was crazy then sighed and stood up.
"Niagara Falls. Have too much to drink or something?" he responded, cocking an eyebrow.
"Or something," Nikola said, leaving. He walked out onto the street, trying to decide where to go next. He began walking, and without realizing it, he ended up staring out at the falls that had inspired him as a small child. He heard sobbing nearby, and he turned to see the two people he had thought he'd lost forever. Helen Magnus was on her knees, her head in her hands, sobbing, with their son Dane next to her. Nikola felt moisture in his eyes as he watched them.
"Helen," he whispered, even as his feet had already started moving towards the pair.
~End~