A/N. February Challenge for the Teslen thread on Gateworld. The theme is "Secret Admirer" and I spun it to be a possible way that Nikola joined the Five. Usually, my theory is that he and Helen met first, but this story just took a different twist.

Things to know: The real Tesla never really went to Oxford, but for the sake of Sanctuary and this fic, he's just moved from Serbia and the things that really happened to him in the Polytechnic School in Graz I've combined to have happened in Oxford. His physics professor, a man named Poeschl, showed them a direct current generator. Just looking at it, Nikola figured out a better way, pointed it out, and was ridiculed. From that day, he became obsessed with proving that alternating current was superior to direct. Years later, he finally succeeded. Now, without the superior and more efficient alternating current, we would not have power in our homes, not to mention televisions, computers, and radios. Thank you, Mr. Tesla.

Once Upon That Fateful Night

She was like an angel.

Golden hair, fair skin, and the widest blue eyes he'd ever seen. Her eyes were what made his breath hitch from across the room. They seemed to shine with passion; a sparkle of curiosity mixed with the fire of determination. Even if the rest of her features hadn't been perfect, he would have thought her beautiful merely because of that light. He had no idea who she was and he hadn't even noticed her arrive at the party, but his considerable mind had been captured for the evening.

She was not unobservant, however, and he found more than once that she glanced over sharply from her group of friends to banish his gaze from her countenance. Then, with the night half over, she broke away from the group of gentlemen and glided over to him. He watched her progress, thinking she would soar past him with those invisible angel wings. When he realized that he was her goal, a healthy blush crawled onto his face and he abruptly found his shoes to be fascinating.

"Excuse me?"

God almighty, even her voice was angelic. Utilizing his incredible self-control, he forced his blush to vanish and raised steel-colored eyes to match the deep blue of hers. He did not yet trust himself to speak, and so he acknowledged her query with a cold quirk of one eyebrow.

She smiled. "You're Tesla, aren't you?"

"I might be," he replied smoothly. "I don't know if you're thinking of the right one, though. There are just so many Teslas in Britain."

She laughed at his sarcasm and he almost cried at the musical sound. Was there nothing wrong with this woman?

"Helen Magnus," she said, offering her hand.

He lightly grasped her fingers, replied: "Nikola Tesla." and brought her hand to his mouth. It was like kissing warm silk and he almost lost his senses again. Admirably, he managed to release her hand in gentlemanly timing.

She curtsied lightly and then clasped both hands in front of her again. "One of my friends mentioned that you have physics with him at Oxford," she spoke. "That's how I knew your name."

"Oh?"

Nikola glanced over at her three friends with an analytical chill. None of the perfect English gentlemen looked particularly happy with him or the situation. Nikola vaguely recognized one of them.

"Yes," Helen replied. "James Watson—perhaps you know him?"

"I can't say I've had the pleasure." Nikola smiled.

It was a lie. He had. In fact, he'd recently overheard the boy snickering with his friends about the 'arrogant ass whose only real friends are his teachers and even to them he's just an intriguing anomaly.' Tesla's back tightened. He knew he did not relate well with other people. He was too focused on his studies to care much and his very nature seemed abrasive to those who did not understand.

"He said you came up with quite the theory in class to denounce the professor's generator," she was speaking again. "He said that even though the professor tried to put you down, you kept trying to prove that you were right. James was quite impressed with your intelligence and perseverance to challenge the accepted."

"I'm sorry," Nikola said evenly. "But I really don't understand where you're going with this."

She smiled. "Do you dance, Mr. Tesla?"

"I do, but I am afraid I have not had long to learn English dances."

She smiled that stunning expression and held out her hand. "This one is simple. I'm sure you will catch on quickly."

Nikola blinked. He'd never met a woman so confident. Feeling like a child, he took her hand and allowed her to lead him out onto the floor. In that moment, his heart soared and he felt he would follow her lead in anything and everything.

As they danced, she spoke in furtive whispers of a secret group she'd formed with three boys—the three glaring at him, presumably—and they felt they needed an engineer. She spoke of pushing the bounds of science and going where their teachers dared not to venture. All of which appealed to him immensely. If he could only prove alternating current to that damn thick-headed Professor Poeschl…

But for once his mind was not on science. The slight, but strongly built woman in his arms was interfering with his mind, leaving only static. He was aware of his hand on her back, under a waterfall of golden curls. Her hand gripped his shoulder lightly, the fingers of their other hands entwining warmly.

"So?" she said, eventually. "What do you think of it?"

"Hm?" he shook himself mentally. "Oh, I think it sounds brilliant."

"Really?" She beamed. "We meet at my home in London every Saturday evening if you wish to join us?"

"I would be honored to embarrass our professors with you."

She laughed again and in a moment of wild dreaming, he imagined he could spend the rest of his life making her laugh. Or at the very least, he had to keep her smiling. He could feel it swirling in his mind, fast becoming an obsession.

The dance ended.

"Helen?" the tallest of her friends was calling to her.

She started over, one hand still in Nikola's. Observing the hostile faces of the three men, Nikola instinctively held back. His angel glanced back at him with a frown, but a reassuring smile replaced it.

"Come, I would like you to meet your new colleagues."

She guided him to them and made introductions. The tall man was Druitt. The nondescript, sneering one was Griffin. And, of course, the coldly analytical Watson. Nikola felt all of his relaxation from dancing with Helen immediately tense back up into a hard defensive shell.

No sooner had they bowed to one another, than Druitt took Helen's arm. "The carriage is here, Helen. We must go."

She frowned. "Oh, but…"

She looked at Nikola and he managed a smile. "It was good to meet you, Miss Magnus. I do believe you have made what would have been an insufferable dinner party to be the best night of my life."

She smiled. And then she laughed. Inside himself, inside the icy shield, Nikola beamed. On the outside, he bowed stiffly, brushed her hand with a chaste kiss, and allowed her three friends to guide her out the door. He walked to the window and watched as the four climbed into a carriage. Then, as the horses began to pull away, the golden-curled head poked out the window and he saw her smile one last time as she waved lightly.

That night, he did not sleep. This was not unusual, but tonight he was not racked by nightmares of his dead brother. Nor was he wrestling with an intellectual problem to the point of illness.

No, this night he simply stood on the balcony of his room and stared over the silent city of Oxford. But his gaze went beyond the city, to the southeast. Toward London. In that moment, he knew it was hopeless. He would never have the courage to speak his feelings to her because he was terrified that a romantic attachment would compromise his work. Besides, he felt so inadequate when around her. Like a mortal man with his goddess.

And so, he would simply be her secret admirer for life.

What he did not know was just how long that life would end up being because of the lovely Miss Magnus.

~fin~