This story idea came from a dream I had several nights ago that involved an in ground swimming pool. I hope that you enjoy it and reviews are greatly appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sanctuary characters. They are the property of their respective creators.

27 Laps of Happiness

Bright lights streamed through the window in Nikola's bedroom turning it into a kaleidoscope of various shades ranging from orange, red, and gold. The colors danced delicately upon his handsome face as he woke. His steel eyes adjusted to the brightness that the new day had brought to his room. He stood up from the bed in a very graceful way and stretched his long, lean, body as he tried to shake the sleepiness that remained. He had to adjust to being sleepy and needing sleep. The achiness that he felt in his muscles upon standing as he stretched out was so new to him. When he had been immortal, he never had to feel the sleepiness that came with exhaustion, the extreme achiness and fatigue that existed in every muscle of his body that felt like a tightly tied knot. Nikola walked over to the closet and took out a pair of simple, black, bathing shorts and put them on effortlessly with his long, slender, fingers. The black bathing suit accented his tall, lithe, lean, muscular, frame perfectly as he grabbed a white towel hanging from a sterling silver towel rack in the bathroom. As he left his room he silently and slowly closed the door to his room. The hallway in the Sanctuary was still dark and quiet at this hour with only a few rays of orange gold sunlight creeping through the windows. He walked down the hallway at a slow pace toward the elevator that would take him to the pool room in the basement. The door to the elevator opened with a chime and he stepped in and pressed the button for the basement level. He ran his fingers through his, thick, dark, hair and inspected his fingers and nails just as the door opened with a musical quality. He walked through the double glass doors to the pool area and placed his towel on the third white lounge chair that was near the pool. He glanced around the room and noticed that it was as elegantly decorated as any other place in the Sanctuary. There were beautiful, leafy, green, plants surrounding the room as well as beautifully, colored, flowers in tall ornate pots as well as hanging baskets from the ceiling . The pool room smelled like a fragrant, exotic, garden as he breathed in the scent and closed his eyes. The floor was a silver- grey marble that was lustrous and cold under his feet as he walked toward the pool. The walls were also made of the same gleaming marble and they were washed with a cool light that came from the tall, crystal, chandelier in the golden, arched, ceiling above him. He dipped one long, slim, toe into the water to test the temperature and was welcomed by warm, crystal, clear, water. Nikola swiftly dived into the pool without a splash as his long, strong , muscles propelled him through the water. Water droplets clinging to his toned body like small, diamonds as he moved his strong. arms forward through the water. The drops of water fell from his thick, shiny, hair and around his chiseled face as they fell gracefully to the surface of the water.

"Six." he thought to himself as counted the number of laps out of twenty- seven that he had swan already. Swimming was a release for him as of late. All the tension and achiness left his body when he was in the water. He was able to think here in peace and solitude. He could calm all the thoughts in his head that were slowly drowning him and pulling him under.

"Well, I knew I would find you here." an angelic voice asked from somewhere behind him.

He knew that soft, warm, gentle voice too well. It was the voice of Helen Magnus. He stopped his last lap to turn around and see Helen taking a white towel slowly off of her body that revealed her tall, slender, form in a black, bikini. His eyes taking in every womanly curve of her body while trying to remain a gentleman by not staring for too long. He subtly bit his lower lip and raked his long fingers through his wet, dark, hair.

"Care to join me? I know you must have been watching me the whole time." he said with a characteristic smirk on his face that made him irrestible as he waved his right hand.

"I was not watching you the whole time." Helen bit her lip as she knew that was a lie. She had been watching and enjoying every minute of seeing his lean, slender, muscled, body as it crested through the surface of the water as his hair swept back and away from his face.

"Oh! come on, Helen. You were so looking at me. Me being magnetic and all." Nikola smiled at her warmly as he waited for her to join him.

"I was not. And you being magnetic has nothing to do with it," she said as she slowly lowered herself into the warm water.

Nikola swam a little closer to her as she smoothed her long, dark, hair back from her face and revealed her beautiful, azure eyes as she looked at him. She glanced into the depths of his dark, steel, eyes and wandered down his wet body that was strewn with gleaming rivulets of water that caressed his well muscled physique.

"Helen." Nikola said softly without an air of arrogance as he noticed her eyes on him.

Helen looked right into his eyes as he came closer to her and swept her wet hair back from her face and neck with his hand gently. He placed a slender finger and ran it down her cheek to her soft, red, lips. She looked into his eyes and slowly moved her right hand to his hair as droplets fell slowly like rain from her arm as it came gracefully out of the water. She slowly moved her delicate fingers through his thick hair and down his strong back and shoulders as she moved in toward his warm, wet, body. He angled his face toward her as his lips came to rest upon hers gently. He deepened the kiss by putting his arms around her slender waist and holding her gently toward him. Helen responded by moving in closer as she wrapped her slim arms around his neck and tasted his sweet lips. They stayed in each other's arms like this for a long time. Both yearning for love and protection . Both needing this. Helen broke the kiss as she kept her hands around his neck and smiled warmly up at him.

"Helen, I..." Nikola's voice trailed as he tried to find the words to say. He stared into her eyes as he smoothed her hair back from her angelic face.

"I know. You love me . And the thing is...I love you too, Nikola." Helen smiled back as she traced his lips with her fingers and leaned in for another kiss.

Nikola opened his mouth to speak and was quieted with a deep kiss as she leaned him up against the tiled wall of the pool and wrapped her arms around his thin waist.

"Helen. Can we finish this somewhere else..." Nikola smirked at her.

"Sure. I do not think the others will be up for a while." Helen smiled up at him with a wink.

And with a smirk he gently picked her up in his arms and carried her through the glass doors toward the elevator.

FIN