Rating: T
Warnings: adult themes, adult language, suggestive situations of an adult m/f nature, fluff, angst, romance
Spoilers: Chimera, SFN, Tempus, end of 3rd season
Summary: Helen has started to have some rather interesting dreams
Characters/Pairings: Nikola Tesla, Helen Magnus, Will Zimmerman, mentions of Kate Freelander, Biggie, John Druitt, Nigel Griffin and Henry Foss; Nikola/Helen
"Nikola!" Helen jumped a little and reached for the gun at her back before realizing who was there.
"Helen," Nikola's voice was smooth and low. He smiled, sitting in the window seat of her office, in the dark, drinking a glass of wine.
"What on Earth are you doing here?" Helen left the lights off, not wanting to interfere with her night vision, as she walked over, cautiously.
"Looking for you," Nikola grinned then sipped from his glass.
"It's late, I'm tired," Helen wrapped her shrug around herself more as if cold.
"Then why are you in here?" Nikola set down his glass on a table as he stood. He was in one hell of a suit, it was black with darker silk accents. His pale skin seemed to glow in the dim light, not in an unhealthy way, almost like a ghost.
Helen shivered and hugged her arms across her front.
She was far from cold though.
Nikola and his ghostly features, complete with the smile that got her to let him get away with so much, strode over.
"I'm waiting," Nikola stopped less than a foot from her.
Helen fought back a moan as she was hit with a scent from so long ago. Something she'd not breathed in since...
Oxford.
That cologne Nikola had, it was far more subtle than most men wore at the time. It was deep and musky with the hint of crisp fall leaves. On Nikola it seemed to gain the scent of static from electricity.
The scent should be overpowering, yet all Helen wanted to do was take large, deep breaths of it.
Only Niko could wear that scent.
On anyone else it would have been stifling.
On him it was bloody perfect.
She couldn't help it, she moaned.
"You just thought of me as Niko," Nikola whispered.
Helen gasped, when had he gotten so close?
His breath was hot on her cheek, she could smell the wine he'd been drinking, it was something exquisite and probably a bottle she would be annoyed was gone.
"You're not denying it," Nikola walked to stand behind her.
She should be afraid.
She didn't like people behind her.
She didn't like people in her blind spot.
This was dangerous.
This was...
"Ooooh," Helen moaned as her eyes closed. Nikola was putting kisses to one of her few weak spots. The one directly behind her ear close to her neck.
"We... we can't do this," Helen's arms dropped to her sides.
"Oh we can, you know that full well," Nikola pressed his body to her back.
Helen moaned feeling his solid body against hers, "Not what I meant and you know it."
"Yes," Nikola licked the spot and Helen swayed.
"Nikola," Helen tried to sound stern. It came out breathy.
"Yes?" Nikola kissed down to Helen's collar bone and nudged her shrug out of the way with his nose then kissed her skin.
"We shouldn't," Helen pressed to Nikola for balance and the need for more contact.
"Tell me to stop and I will," Nikola mumbled against where her neck met the rest of her.
"Nikola," Helen moaned louder.
Beep Beep Beep Beep
"Yes? You keep saying my name," Nikola gave a tiny nibble.
Beep Beep Beep Beep
Helen moaned incoherently. She reached and grabbed behind Nikola's shoulder as she started to turn to face him.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
"Nikola," Helen started it as a moan then it was a startled yell as she rolled out of bed and landed on the floor.
"Ow," Helen grumbled and tried to reach her blasted phone to silence it this instant.
Helen Magnus sat up and looked around.
"Oh," She was sitting on the floor in her bedroom. It was morning.
Where in Heaven's name had THAT come from?
It would be a complete lie that she had never dreamed about Nikola before.
After all, one cannot control their dreams.
But it was never like that.
So intense and real and...
There was a rapid knocking on her door, "Magnus! Uh, you need to get out here, this new intake just tried to mate with Henry... or eat him, we're not sure."
"Bloody Hell," Helen sighed as she pushed herself up. She glanced at her bed, half expecting to find a certain vampire in her bed.
She had no idea if she was disappointed or relieved to find the bed empty.
Will's panicked knocking resumed.
"I'll be right there!" Helen yelled.
"Kay," Will ran off.
Crisis with the new intake averted and it was now just a regular far too busy day for how distracted Helen was.
She swore when she first walked into her office she smelled the cologne.
But that was silly, Nikola hadn't worn it when he was last here.
Helen held meetings and dealt with papers.
Oh those kisses! Nikola knew all the right places to touch. He'd always been like that, knew what buttons to push when he was being annoying, where to poke to make her giggle and the perfect places for kisses and caresses.
She pressed her legs together, her body reacting to the memory of the dream.
"Magnus?" a voice on the phone distracted her.
"Uh, what?" Helen snapped back to the here and now.
"You sort of went quiet," Declan sounded so confused on the other end.
"Sorry, one of the children needed something," Helen lied.
Wait, when did she call them 'the children'?
Helen yawned as she turned down the covers on her bed. Since entering her second century, she was finding sleep a more needed activity.
And damn it what was wrong with being in a comfy bed for a few hours?
She was rather tired from her long day so thought she would fall asleep fast.
An hour later she groaned and sat up.
Was she afraid she might have the dream again?
No.
Afraid was not the word.
Eager?
Probably.
Damn it. What was wrong with her?
It wasn't like she hadn't had lovers in her long trip back to the present.
Okay she'd not had many and there was never really any emotional attachment.
Plus, not a single one had a hope of pleasing her like Nikola could.
Was that really fair? Comparing others to Nikola in bed?
Probably not but she was anyway.
And while she'd been more celibate the closer to her time and she'd told Charlotte the truth that it had been a long time since she was kissed like that, it wasn't as if she was feeling sexually frustrated.
Charlotte had been an amazing woman and Helen would always cherish the time she spent with her, it wasn't a relationship that could continue.
Helen couldn't ask Charlotte to step into her life, especially now with so much to do and so many things to finish.
They had parted on good terms, Helen meaning it that Charlotte could call on her for anything as she continued her research.
So why now was she sitting in bed feeling as anxious and needy as a teenager? Something she'd not been for quite some time.
"This is silly," Helen laid back down and forced her eyes shut.
After another hour she was honestly entertaining the thought of calling up Nikola for a late night adult conversation.
Helen pulled her pillow over her head.
Did she just contemplate calling up Nikola Tesla, The Walking Ego, for phone sex?
Oh who was she kidding. Yes she was.
Would she?
Not in this life.
Not tonight anyway.
After a few cups of Sleepy Time teas, Helen finally made it to sleep.
To her great disappointment, she didn't dream.
Nor did Helen dream the night after.
However, the night after that...
"What took you so long?" Nikola was sitting on her desk in the same suit from the other day only his jacket was draped over Magnus' desk chair and his vest and tie were gone.
Helen tried to hide her happiness at dreaming. She smoothed her shirt, wait, what was she wearing?
Helen was in a crimson blouse with short sleeves and a black skirt that hugged her hips a bit.
"Nikola!" Helen scolded.
"You assume I'm the one choosing your wardrobe," Nikola grinned.
"Oh," Helen shook her head, this was her dream, right?
"Wait," Helen looked up again, "then why did you ask what took me so long?"
Nikola shrugged, "you want to make out or you want to interrogate me?"
"And why do you assume that's why I am here?" Helen walked closer, her heels not quite as quiet on the carpet as you would think.
"Oh, I don't know," Nikola gestured as he talked, "blood red shirt, black skirt that borderlines a size too small and I believe those type of shoes are called Do-something-sexual-to-me-pumps?"
The attempt to not be crude and just say 'fuck me' pumps had Helen fighting a giggle.
"So what if they are," Helen baited?
"Helen I'm shocked," Nikola stood, his tone playful, "are you asking me to make love to you?"
"No," Helen admitted then continued before Niko could pout, "I'm asking you to have sex with me."
Nikola did that noise he did when he was a happy vampire. Some sort of cross between a kitten's purr and a growl.
"Tell me, what you want," Nikola shifted so their bodies brushed together.
"Nikola," Helen grabbed his wrists and moved his hands to her chest, "fuck me."
"Gladly," Nikola rushed his mouth down and began to devour Helen's lips.
Helen moaned and mewled in pleasure as she moved them to the couch and began to rid Nikola of every stitch of finally tailored clothing.
Nikola growled and used his claws to shred Helen's clothing. He let out a loud moan at her black lace bra and matching panties.
That he then casually destroyed.
"You're lucky this is a dream," Helen was nibbling and suckling Nikola's neck, "or I'd be rather cross at you for that."
"Liar," Nikola withdrew the claws on his left hand and thrust a finger into Helen's dripping core, "you wore them here."
"Yes I did," Helen pressed over Nikola's skinny finger, "now shut up and make me scream."
"I love a challenge," Nikola tasted Helen's chest.
Neither was really doing much talking after that.
To say they got close to wearing out the couch was a damn understatement. The pair didn't hold anything back.
It was also possible they ran out of reasonable positions on such a limited piece of furniture.
By the time they had finished, Nikola had come three times and Helen had orgasmed at least twice as much.
Nikola laid on his back on the couch, Helen over him.
They were a panting, sweaty and sticky mess.
And Helen looked like that cat that got the cream and the canary.
Nikola had his eyes closed as he lazily moved his long fingers over Helen's back.
"You're going to walk funny tomorrow," Nikola commented.
"Always so classy after sex," Helen pinched his arm.
"Ow!" Nikola gave a half hearted snarl, "you're violent it seems."
Helen actually giggled at his reaction.
"It'll be dawn soon," Nikola whispered and kissed the top of Helen's head.
"Mmm, so?" Helen asked as she half-heartedly felt around for something to cover them with.
"Time to get up," Nikola put his shirt over Helen.
"Later," Helen snuggled more.
"Sorry," Nikola whispered as he gave one more nuzzle.
Before Helen could ask what for her eyes were opening and she was staring at her phone again.
"Oh," Helen sighed and turned the alarm off. Tempting as it was to linger in bed and savor the memory of her hot dream, there was work to be done. As she started to get out of bed she winced.
Wait... what in the world?
Helen moved gingerly to the bathroom. She had no marks on her body, probably good because Nikola had been a little over eager with his non-fanged bites, but she felt like she had spent the entire night having sex.
Walking funny indeed.
It was a bit of a task to cover how she was feeling the effects of her rather intense dream. Helen, however, was used to hiding physical discomfort.
What was harder to mask was her spending too much time being confused as to why she felt like that. No dream, no matter how intense, had felt like that.
Sure, she'd had nightmares that made her violently ill, gave her cold sweats or, on the good end, waking up with a very big need to take some alone time but nothing ever came close to feeling like she'd spent the entirety of the night having passionate sex.
Despite really wanting to figure out what was going on her dreams, there was, of course, far too much work to be done.
By the middle of the day, and a few Tylenol, Helen was focusing on the massive amount of work she had, both what her staff knew and what projects were strictly her own.
And of course the little disasters that sprang up, like Will having not remembered what part of the feeding cycle one of the residents was in and almost getting his head taken off.
Helen would deny if asked that for a very split second she had wished it had.
Did she wish her protege dead?
Of course not.
Did she want his nosy, overbearing, yes I'm right because I'm human and you're not attitude to get his bell rung so he was silent for a week?
No comment.
There was no time to try and sleep that night. Just too much to do and with Biggie travelling to Hollow Earth to meet up with Kate, who was also not present, and the fact no one knew about the new home she had built, she kind of had her hands more than full.
The next day went a little smoother and that evening after a conference call with herself, Henry and Erika about how the latter's pregnancy was going, Helen treated herself to a hot bath.
Helen was lounging in the tub in the blissful silence of her bathroom, the lights off and a few candles lit to let her tired eyes have a break.
She finally had a chance to think on the dream, dreams actually, about Nikola.
It was very true she had been missing him. Ever since Africa he was even more in her thoughts than before. Yes, finding him at SCIU had hurt, a lot, but she did believe him when he said he wasn't there to hurt abnormals.
Her own personal Robin Hood.
A late night conversation over a bottle of something strong, before she had her trip through time, Kate asked why Helen hadn't asked Tesla back to the Sanctuary.
Actually her exact words had been, i"So Doc, how come Cranky didn't come home with you after he became a member of the pointy-teeth club again?"/i
Helen had giggled, blaming it on the alcohol, to avoid having to give an answer.
Mostly because she hadn't been completely sure.
It wasn't like Nikola had a line of prospects waiting for him, even with being a vampire again.
"How long can you hold on?"
"For the rest of my life."
Helen shook herself and opened her eyes, heart racing.
That was why. Nikola had almost died and, because of who she was, she couldn't let him be close.
The memory of his blood on her hands made her feel cold, even though the water was still rather warm.
"Helen, you're going to have to find another date to the prom."
Helen suddenly moved to sit on the side of the tub, fingers fumbling for the light switch. She blinked against the harshness of the overhead lighting, needing to remind herself she wasn't there.
She wasn't there and Nikola was alive.
Maybe that was it. The dream was so intense to prove to her Nikola was fine. After all, the time between when that actually happened and now wasn't long but for her, it was another hundred years on top of the months between "then" and "now".
Though that still didn't explain the 'walking funny'.
i"What the hell got into you?"
"Adrenalin, I suspect, our real world bodies must be feeling the strain."
"Virtual neurochemistry? Well, either way, Yowza."/i
"That doesn't make any sense," Helen whispered as she pulled the drain and blew out the candles.
Why would her dream be affecting her like the trip into the computer had?
For half a second she worried they hadn't gotten out but no, they really had.
Helen dried off then slipped into a light cotton nightgown tonight, wanting to be comfy.
The shared drink with Nikola after they had returned. She hadn't been thinking of him at SCIU then, how he worked for the enemy. Hell, she hadn't even been thinking on how he had made a mess of her computer system by not telling her about the nanite.
He'd wanted to kiss her goodnight.
She'd seen it in his eyes.
It was almost dawn by the time they finished the bottle and she walked him to the front door.
Why didn't she let him?
Just a kiss.
How long had it been since Nikola had kissed her?
In linear time even, not her added time.
She hadn't let him kiss her goodbye in Africa. She had left before he got a chance to.
Work, it was always work.
Helen hugged a pillow as she got under the covers.
Too much to do. No one could know.
Nikola would know she wasn't herself, not as she had been. He'd have questions she wasn't ready to answer. He'd have known, just with one kiss.
That was why she hadn't let him kiss her goodnight.
Yup.
Had nothing to do with how she doubted she would have been satisfied with only one kiss.
Not at all.
The night after, she again dreamed.
Was she dreaming every third night?
Helen walked across soft grass towards a very familiar spot she hadn't been to in a very long time.
Nikola was sitting on a picnic blanket, dressed in one of his suits from over a hundred years ago. He was feeding his feathered friends.
Helen, who was dressed in a more modern version of a dress she would have worn, they were both in browns, smiled as she knelt on the blanket, "haven't seen this place in so long."
"Have you missed it?" Nikola was speaking with the heavy accent he still had when they first met.
Thankfully this trip to the past was without that horrid moustache of his.
"Yes," Helen admitted, "our secret spot on the Oxford campus."
Nikola gave a nod, "Where we studied and napped and generally planned our mischief." He offered Helen a glass of white wine, something curious in his eyes.
Helen took the glass and a large sip, "mmm lovely choice."
"Is it my choice?" Nikola asked as he pet his pigeons then told them that was it for their treat. They cooed their thanks then flew to the nearby trees.
"I don't actually know," Helen leaned on her hand as she got more comfortable, "something is so different about these dreams."
"Oh?" Nikola opened the picnic basket. He pulled out a bowl filled with chocolate dipped strawberries.
Helen practically purred at the sight of the berries covered in her "secret" weakness.
"Yes," Helen snatched one before Nikola even set the bowl down. She had to hold it slightly odd since it was in the same hand as her glass.
"Mmmm," Helen took a large bite, it was exquisite! The berry was perfectly ripe and juicy, and the chocolate was just the right amount of sweet and bitter.
Nikola watched Helen intently as she devoured the berry then licked the wayward juice from her lips before taking another large sip of the crisp wine.
"I wonder," Nikola took a napkin and dabbed the bit that Helen missed at the corner of her mouth, "will we make it to the end of this bowl while still dressed?"
Helen raised an eyebrow, "is that a challenge?"
Nikola shrugged, "a curiosity." He extended a single claw on his right hand and speared a strawberry then offered it to Helen, "here, should be easier than the other way."
Helen, not wanting to accidentally bite down on Nikola's extended nail, stuck her tongue out under the berry. She pressed at the back of the fruit and moved her mouth forward a little so the entire treat popped off the claw and into her mouth.
She moaned again as she chewed slowly.
Nikola just about gulped then grinned, "I was trying to make this romantic."
"Ha! So you are choosing things," Helen pointed a finger at Nikola then blinked, "wait that means..."
"Somehow, you and I are sharing dreams," Nikola went to reach for his own glass only he didn't get a chance. Helen dropped hers and scrambled to her feet and took off running.
Nikola frowned, "that hadn't been the reaction I was hoping for."
Helen had been dreaming with Nikola not just about him? Oh god that means...
Helen ran faster, heading towards the nearest building.
Nikola wasn't following but then if this was a dream he could be anywhere.
Helen locked herself in the closest lab and panted hard.
This was so bad.
This
could
not
happen!
She expected Nikola to just appear in the room with her since this was a dream but he didn't.
Was he not coming after her?
"Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up!" Helen closed her eyes and tried to get out of the dream.
Way to fail at keeping her distance. Instead of maintaining her resolve she'd been having sex with Nikola Tesla!
Well, all right, it wasn't the first, or second, or third... or more that she'd slept with him.
Okay not actual sex, since it was all mental, but close enough.
Helen was trying to pretend that nothing was happening as she willed herself to wake.
Nikola wasn't moving from the spot Helen left him.
He sadly looked at the spilled wine glass and near full bowl of berries.
A pigeon flew down and landed on Nikola's arm and cooed.
"Wasn't what I wanted," Nikola whispered as he pet his friend who nuzzled his fingers, trying to comfort him.
Helen was sitting in her bed, feeling far too much. It was the middle of the night, she had successfully made it out of her, their dream.
She was telling herself she was angry.
That Nikola had betrayed her trust.
But that wasn't true.
Nikola had offered, tried to tell her what was happening.
And the sex they had, it was all consensual, all very wanted.
Helen should be happy, sex without a lot of the consequences. Sure she'd been sore the next day but there was no explaining to William and Henry why Tesla was at the breakfast table.
If she were truly honest, the romance had upset her more.
It was the emotional attachment she kept telling herself she neither needed or wanted.
As usual, Nikola catered to what she desired, not what she verbally asked for.
That was the thing, the thing that kept her from accepting the kiss that night, from asking him back after Africa.
Nikola Tesla loved her. He truly wanted the whole package, not just sex as she had accused time and again.
Their little trysts over the decades almost always ended when Nikola would get cuddly. Mornings where Helen would wake up with a star lily by her pillow and a note that said he went to get breakfast were usually the ones where she tried to be gone before he returned.
And Nikola, being Nikola, always stayed away long enough to let her have the choice.
Helen laid back down, having a lot she needed to sort through.
Not the least of which, would she finally give in?
No one ever treated her like Nikola had.
When John had been sane, he had been the perfect gentleman. He held her chair, he kissed her fingers when they said goodnight, he took her to the opera, to the theater, on long carriage rides.
John had been punctual, bringing her flowers almost every time they went out, being proper and speaking with her father before asking for her hand.
She was always home at a reasonable hour and while she did lay with John before they were married, the first times they had it had been as much her choice as his.
But he had also been the perfect man of the time. He often didn't let her finish her sentences and while he seemed to support her work in the five, all his comments about being married and their lives later ignored her goal to be a doctor and take over her father's Sanctuary.
And times when she didn't wish to be physical with him, he didn't like no for an answer. Even before the blood and whatever woke the true darkness in his heart.
Nikola had been none of that.
Nikola kept her out at all hours, helped her sneak out much of the time. He clashed with her father, argued with her on many things and had a habit of showing up to steal her for an evening without asking first.
His ideas for dates were unconventional. Nothing like stealing microscopes to build a telescope to watch the stars fall from the sky. Or somehow convincing her to swim with him in the middle of the winter at the school pool. They both almost got pneumonia but it had been glorious fun.
Nikola indulged her sweet tooth at the same time teasing her for the noises she made when he would present her with chocolates.
He also never once looked down on her for her gender, now or then, and honestly felt her having to audit classes was a huge injustice, it hadn't been for show.
To this day, Helen had no idea why she let John court her when Nikola was still close.
Even after John got permission and they were first dating, Nikola spent much of the Christmas holiday with her. Drunken kisses under the mistletoe that year had been too numerous to count.
And it was Helen who had plucked the berries and leaves from the walkway and held it over Nikola's head as they sat by the fire.
And later lay together by the fire.
Had Helen truly loved John?
Yes, at one point she had.
The crime was, she had loved Nikola first and never told him.
Maybe it was his attitude, maybe it was because he never spoke with Father, maybe it was her lying to herself but she hadn't let herself entertain the thought of marrying Nikola then.
She had come so very close but always made some excuse in her head.
And she would have been blind to not see the devastation in Nikola's watery blue eyes those years ago when she strolled into the lab with a large diamond on her finger.
It very much looked like the immortal vampire had been stabbed and was about to die. He'd quickly hidden it so she didn't comment.
It was the proper thing to do, to marry a man like John, to have a child and be a wife.
Was it what she wanted? Yes and no.
Then yes, she wanted to be a wife, but she wanted to be a doctor too.
Nikola wouldn't have made her choose.
Maybe that was it, Helen was expecting a fight in the future with John, a way to assert herself.
Even if that was it, it was a stupid reason.
Had she perhaps thought Nikola would still see her after she was engaged?
No, even before John was seized by the elemental and the dark that lurked inside him, if he had any hint Nikola was still close to her he'd have killed him.
Though it was hard to argue against that Helen liked having her cake and eating it too.
She worked her ass off to get said cake but she was used to getting her way.
Helen rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. She had spent too long arguing with herself about the past, she needed to deal with her future.
Yes, Helen had been dealing with the physical and work side of her future. Of making her new Sanctuary that was still such a secret.
But what about the rest of her?
She was tired of being alone at night, alone in the morning, sitting at the table with just the children.
She did it again.
She thought of her staff as 'the children'.
Yes, she has always viewed Henry like a son, but Will... he was a protege and yes she had high hopes for him and he truly exceeded her expectations, his attitude towards her and relationships was still too young for her.
Plus he was, thankfully, dating someone.
"Helen, you're stalling," Helen scolded herself out loud.
Did she want Nikola in her life on a more permanent basis?
Yes.
God yes.
Hell yes.
Not just because having him working for the Sanctuary would give them an advantage over their enemies.
Not just because having him where she could keep an eye on him might keep him out of trouble.
And not just because she honestly thought having Henry and Nikola working together more was helping them both.
No, she wanted Nikola there because she missed him, damn it.
She missed his humor, his knowledge, even his stealing her wine... within reason.
And if those dreams had been any hint, she missed him as a lover.
"Helen Magnus. Kiss me and I'll save your life."
"And if I don't?"
Right.
Like she wouldn't have kissed him.
If he wasn't wearing his too confident mask she would have probably kissed the hell out of him.
Okay and there were the men with guns.
She hadn't believed he would hurt her.
As crazy as some things got with Nikola, she had never feared him.
Him feverish and confused as the blood changed him, she sat by his side to care for him.
He was so scared he would hurt her yet she didn't budge.
Helen jolted as the memories of Rome crashed together with taking the blood, including John shoving his fist through Nikola's gut.
Helen was never asking for a rescue.
Nikola came to India to help, not just get the blood for himself.
And she was borderline heartless for not realizing sooner what Nikola being alone with the ashes of his race must have done to him.
Helen was stalling again.
Helen tried to think of finishing her plans with Nikola not coming with and it physically hurt her.
Guess she had some explaining to do.
Helen spent the next three days working and organizing. She had a plan for when she headed to bed that night.
Will kept trying to ask what was up but she completely ignored him, needing to focus.
Besides, he was always whining about wanting to be more in charge.
Want to do Helen's job, Willy, have at it.
She'd pick up the mess the next morning.
Finally she was done with what she had set out to do.
She said her goodnights then headed to her room.
After a hot shower to calm herself back down she dressed in one of her nicer, though conservative, nightgowns and climbed into bed.
She was still a bit nervous though managed to fall asleep quickly.
Helen walked forward, her bare feet a little chilled on the marble floor of the foyer. Her nightgown, a mix of black satin and royal blue cotton, sat on her like a true gown, it flowed over her legs, just barely showing her feet. Her arms were bare, though the top of her nightgown was more like a covering tank top than an evening dress.
Nikola was in one of his suits, but one Helen liked to watch him in, not one that sent her into a frenzy of wanting to jump him.
Funny, it had blues and blacks too, though a dustier blue.
Helen wasn't sure who had chosen it, she certainly hoped he wasn't sleeping in his clothing again.
"Helen?" Nikola blinked as he walked over.
"Hello, Nikola," Helen stopped near him.
"Was afraid you would decide to not sleep anymore," Nikola was tense though trying to hide it.
"I had a lot to think about," Helen let out a deep breath.
"About?" Nikola was waiting for the other shoe.
Though Helen was barefoot.
Helen laughed a little and offered her hand, "come on, I'll show you."
Nikola blinked then smiled and slid his hand into Helen's.
Helen closed her fingers around Nikola's. How long had it been since the pair of them had simply held hands?
"Where on Earth are we?" Nikola looked around, seeing huge buildings, a waterfall, what in the world was that sphere?
"Underneath it," Helen smiled as she kept walking.
"This is Hollow Earth?" Nikola was trying to look around more without letting go of Helen's hands.
Helen giggled a moment, "you look like a child."
"I dress better than one," Nikola grinned, "is it?"
"Yes and no," Helen walked them into a lift and pressed a button.
"You going to tell me?" Nikola asked, thumb absently moving over Helen's fingers. Her hand was warm in his.
"You'll see," Helen whispered. She stepped off the lift once the doors opened and down a long hallway. She pressed a light panel, there was a sound then doors clicked and hissed open.
"First the uMatrix/u, now uStar Trek/u?" Nikola winked.
Helen shook her head and stepped into the large room.
"Oh my god," Nikola walked forward, eyes on the huge window that overlooked the massive underground complex.
He watched as the waterfall was fueling some kind of-
"My turbines?" Nikola blinked in confusion. He looked around the office more. He moved a panel over a light, "and... my light bulbs?"
He turned to Helen, who was standing with her arms crossed, looking unsure.
"Helen?" Nikola stepped closer, curious, not angry.
"Do you remember a visit, after you were in New York?" Helen asked softly. She hugged her arms tighter, a touch worried Nikola would be upset for being lied too.
"Yes, you came with a bottle of red and said-," Nikola straightened a bit as, "that wasn't you?"
"It was but it wasn't," Helen sighed. She offered her hand again, "sit with me."
Nikola nodded slowly and took Helen's fingers.
Helen walked them to the window seat, her leaning against the wall to face Nikola better. She played with Nikola's fingers a little, much like she used to when she had something bad to tell him and she didn't want to.
"You've got that look," Nikola let his accent slip out, "like when you used to try and cancel our plans because your father never liked me."
Helen half-laughed, have choked on tears she didn't realize she was shredding, "wish it were that simple."
"It is," Nikola tugged Helen's hand, trying to move her closer.
"How can you say that?" Helen let Nikola put her almost in his lap. She couldn't help but snuggle into his embrace.
"Because," Nikola whispered, "whatever happens, we face it together."
Helen laughed again as tears fell on Nikola's shoulder.
Nikola let Helen take her time. Long fingers stroked through chestnut locks as he did his best to give Helen whatever strength it was she was needing.
"How much do you know about the Hollow Earth invasion?" Helen asked, her head resting against Nikola's chest. Somehow they had shifted so that he had his back on the wall at the window, with Helen snuggled in his lap.
"Praxis was destroyed," Nikola kissed the top of Helen's head, "that's about all I know. I never got the actual reason from SCIU."
"Praxis was destroyed," Helen took a very shaky breath, "by Adam Worth."
"What?" Nikola tried to see Helen's eyes but they were closed again.
"When we fought him..." Helen gripped Nikola's waistcoat, "John betrayed us. He let Worth live."
"Why?" Nikola put his arms around Helen, holding firmly.
"Adam promised to take him back to the past," Helen was still crying some, it was just too much to keep in anymore.
"To do what?" Nikola kept his voice quiet.
"John wanted to stop us taking the blood," Helen curled up more, "he wanted to undo everything so he could have me again. It was so damn selfish. It wasn't love."
"How do you know?" Nikola caressed Helen's arms a little, she was shivering.
"He showed up during the invasion," Helen's voice was bitter, angry, "Worth double-crossed him. Wasn't going back to when John wanted so he came running to me to stop him."
Nikola literally bit his tongue at the comment he almost made about Druitt and only being able to fight his own battles when it was a defenseless girl. That was a bit crude at the moment.
"I went down with him," Helen slid her fingers over Nikola's silk tie, "that's when we found Praxis destroyed. When we found my father's walking stick."
Nikola held tighter, letting her continue.
"Adam's work was unstable, it had created the anomaly at Carentan and destroyed the city," Helen slid her fingers up to loosen Nikola's tie, then let it wrap around her fingers, "we found him, trying to finish. He succeeded. He opened a portal back in time and... I followed him."
Nikola lifted his head and studied things out the window, "it was you from now that met me in New York then."
"Yes," Helen whispered, "I needed your help but... I couldn't risk altering the timeline." She lifted her head, eyes red around the edges from crying, "do you forgive me?"
"Of course I do," Nikola kissed the tears from Helen's cheeks, "of course you couldn't tell me, I'd have pestered you to know how he did it then tried to replicate it myself. And the last thing we need is me becoming a Time Lord."
"Oh dear Lord," Helen chuckled then pressed her lips to Nikola's.
"Mmm," Nikola pressed back, a hand resting on the back of Helen's head.
They held the kiss a bit, neither escalating just sharing the moment. Helen still had so much to tell Nikola. Nikola had so many questions but they could wait for the immediate moment.
Helen rested her head on Nikola's chest again, her fingers still wrapped in the silk of his tie.
Nikola rubbed Helen's back, "am I the only one who knows?"
"About the traveling, no, about this, yes," Helen whispered. How was she tired, she was dreaming?
"Must have been a lot," Nikola nuzzled Helen's hair, "to do this alone."
"But I didn't," Helen smiled up at Nikola, "you helped me. All this is because you helped me back then so I could get started."
"Careful," Nikola teased, "don't want the praise to go to my head."
"Wouldn't want that," Helen laughed softly.
Nikola hugged Helen closer and she completely curled up in his lap.
"I'm so tired," Helen mumbled, "which is silly since I'm asleep."
"Just rest," Niko nuzzled Helen's cheek, causing Helen's eyes to close as she made a happy sound, "you can give me the tour later."
"No, wait," Helen forced her eyes open, "how, how are we doing this? Is it really you?"
"Helen, do you even have to ask?" Nikola set her own words to her then kissed her cheek.
"Not completely convincing," Helen managed another smile, "I said those things."
"That day you saw Nigel and I fighting," Nikola whispered.
"At school?" Helen rubbed Nikola's tie on the spot he had kissed.
"Yes," Nikola shifted so he could hold the tie then slide it over Helen's neck, tying it loosely for her, "we never told you what it was about."
"No, you didn't," Helen seemed settled with the tie on, "thought you would come to blows."
"We would have, if you'd not shown up," Nikola ran his hand over Helen's hair.
"So," Helen yawned as she got comfortable on Niko's chest, getting him to lay down a little, "why were you fighting?"
"I wasn't listening, as usual," Nikola kissed Helen's eyelids to get them to close and stay that way.
"About what?" Helen asked, fighting another large yawn.
"How I should have talked to you," Nikola glanced at the waterfall, "he told me I should go through with my idea."
"Nikola, I'm tired, just tell me," Helen poked his arm.
"To propose to you," Nikola couldn't look at Helen, worried about what she would say.
Helen opened her eyes and lifted her head, "that... that day was the day before."
"It was the day before John asked," Nikola sighed.
"You wanted to ask me?" Helen put her hand on the bench so she could sit up better.
"I didn't want to lose you as a friend," Nikola sighed, "besides, I think if I had asked John would have tossed me into the Thames."
Helen crawled back so she wasn't lying over Nikola's legs and could sit up straight.
She had just been wondering about why he never had.
"You thought I would say no," Helen rested her head against the cool glass.
Nikola gave a nod, still mostly looking at the water flowing over his turbines.
"Because father didn't like you," Helen stated, watching the water now too.
"And I wouldn't be a good husband," Nikola turned his head again.
"What?" Helen lifted her head from the glass.
"I would have been too preoccupied with my work, your work, I'd not have made sure you went to bed, didn't skip meals," Nikola laughed, "doubt I'd have made a good father then."
"That wasn't your choice to make!" Helen balled her hands into fists.
"You would have said yes?" Nikola asked, "Be honest."
"I..." Helen closed her eyes, "I honestly don't know."
Her relationship with John had been the promise of the future she was supposed to want. His family and hers, it was the right thing to do.
Father approved. She would be happy with John as a wife.
Did she loved John then?
She didn't know.
Nikola hesitantly put his hand over Helen's fist. He let out a breath as she relaxed her fingers.
"I know it's really you then," Helen laughed a little, it was slightly sad. She turned her hand to hold Nikola's properly.
"I'm sorry," Nikola whispered, "I never wanted to tell you because I never wanted to cause a problem."
Helen laughed a little then moved back to her comfy spot on Niko's chest, "We never did things the easy way."
"You're taking this well," Nikola returned his hand to her hair, the one she wasn't holding.
"I've lived too long at this point to regret the things I did or didn't do at Oxford," Helen whispered, "now then, how are we doing this?"
"Best I can guess," Nikola tugged a half-curl of Helen's hair, almost pouting when she didn't giggle, "it's something left over from being in the computer together."
"Oh," Helen contemplated that a bit, "we weren't returned completely to our own selves when we got out?"
"Probably more some sort of lingering echo," Nikola watched Helen's eyes close again, "no idea why we're able to cross such a distance."
"It's not like telepathy then," Helen's voice was getting softer.
"No," Nikola lowered his voice as much as he could, "maybe something electrical."
"Makes sense with you," Helen's hold on his hand loosened.
"And for the other question you didn't ask," Nikola nuzzled the top of her head, "I only sleep once every three days."
"Oh," Helen mumbled.
"Just sleep now, please?" Nikola asked.
"Fine," Helen yawned.
Helen opened her eyes again and was in her bed. She reached out, finding nothing but her pillows.
"Well, he knows," Helen sat up and watching the sun finishing rising, "and so do I."
What would she have answered back then?
Helen shook her head, no, it was done, it was time to go forward. She had work to do, a Sanctuary to save.
"Magnus?" Will tried to get Helen's attention.
Helen sighed as she looked up from her work, "yes, Will?" Seriously, didn't he have his own work?
"Just wanted to know, you know, what's up?" Will sat in a chair across from her without her asking him to.
"You'll need to be more specific, William," Helen had the childish urge to fling her pen at his head.
"Just, you know, you," Will gestured, "been so preoccupied lately."
Helen gripped her pen a bit tighter, "there's a lot of work. If you're feeling bored I'm sure I can find something to fill your schedule."
"No, no," Will laughed, "I've plenty of work, thanks."
"Then what do you want?" Helen watched Will sort of look her over. She had an even stranger urge, to snarl at him.
Helen seriously hoped Nikola wasn't actually in her head at the moment. She tried to poke around in her minding nothing but her own thoughts and emotions.
Sharing dreams was one thing, Helen was quite sure if they were sharing their minds now they would get nothing done.
Nothing productive anyway.
Well, maybe reproductive with their track record so far.
Oh dear Lord, where had that thought come from?
Helen shook her head a little to clear it.
"Magnus?" Will was suspecting she wasn't listening.
"I'm truly sorry, Will," Helen took a breath, "I didn't catch that last part."
"Are... you sure you're okay?" Will looked Helen over again.
"I'm completely fine," Helen insisted, "now either state what you want or kindly leave. As I said, some of us have work to do."
"Look, maybe now is a bad time," Will stood.
"It looks to be, good day, William," Helen turned her attention back to her work.
Two more days and three nights until she saw Nikola again.
She honestly wondered if her staff would all live that long.
Helen could hear rain. It was steady with only the faint hint of thunder.
It took her a few moments to place this particular rain.
She smiled and walked into the hotel room, well, suite, in Vienna.
One thing Helen could never fault Nikola for, he had good taste in hotels.
Nikola was sitting on the sofa, in only a blue satin robe, a glass of wine, Grüner Veltliner if she remembered correctly, in his hand as he watched the water fall over the balcony outside the open glass doors.
"Finally found springtime in Vienna, it seems," Helen strolled over and sat on the other end of the couch.
She was in a near identical robe and nothing else.
"You did say we should make the best of our last few days despite the weather turning sour," Nikola turned his head to face Helen.
"That I did," Helen reached across and took the wine glass from Nikola's hand and sipped.
"Mmm," Helen closed her eyes as she savored the fresh and tart white wine, "definitely can't complain about your fine memory for spirits."
"What, you don't remember them as well as me?" Niko smirked, enjoying watching Helen take another sip.
"Not quite," Helen laughed softly.
The pair were silent for a bit. It wasn't awkward or stifling. It was just quiet as they both gathered their thoughts.
As tempting as it would be to relive all of those last few days, they really needed to finish their talk.
Nikola took the glass back to finish the last sip then refill the glass, half way of course, no sense in an overfull glass.
He held the glass up to the light that was coming in from outside, even if cloudy out it was brighter than inside.
It was always so interesting, watching Nikola enjoy a glass of wine. He rarely verbally expressed his enjoyment so Helen had to learn to observe.
Nikola would linger on looking at the wine. He would savor it sip by sip, when he had the time, yet always he looked into the glass, almost as a sage reads tea leaves left in a cup.
What did he see there? Just the color? Just the tint? Or was it more?
Helen had never observed Nikola being a big eater, even before he became a vampire. His brief stint as a meat eater to emulate a friend had left him quite unhappy, not just because food was more muted since his turning.
It was ironic, his sense of smell was unreal yet certain things he just couldn't taste, yet others were so magnified as to be unpleasant.
The affliction hadn't seem to affect his palate as far as drink was concerned. Helen had often wondered though, was he truly always tasting the wines, or just remembering what different elements combined together to form certain tastes.
Was that the reason he stared into the glass? To remember what he should be tasting?
While many of the tales and myths of vampires were so very untrue, it was a curious thing, that their tastes being lessened, was something that was true.
Or maybe it was just Nikola. Figures he'd have to be different, even as a vampire.
Helen was suddenly jolted back into the moment by Nikola's hand on her side.
"Don't!" Helen almost shrieked as she batted at Nikola's hand.
Nikola smirked, "you weren't here anymore, I was trying to get your attention."
Helen pressed her lips together as she fought a smile, "tickling me is off limits."
"Since when?" Nikola looked confused.
"Since now," Helen snatched the wine glass again then laughed at his continued confusion.
Nikola smiled and shook his head as Helen moved to snuggle against his side. He put his arm around Helen's middle.
She made a contented sound, "yes, I know, we need to talk, soon."
Nikola made a disbelieving noise at that. Helen laughed again as she enjoyed the wine and how comfy the bony Nikola actually was.
The two of them stayed snuggled on the sofa in the mostly dark of the hotel room as the rain continued to fall.
Neither spoke until they needed to open the second bottle.
Helen sighed, knowing they were running out of time and they really couldn't push this conversation off.
"I'll tell you the whole story later," Helen set the now empty glass down and laid over Nikola's lap.
"I gathered," Nikola stroked his long fingers through Helen's hair, "what can I know?"
Helen almost apologized again for lying but stopped, Nikola already said it was fine.
Damn it what was with her lately and stalling?
"It's so close to being done," Helen whispered, "I'm almost afraid to see it through to the end."
"Why?" Nikola continued the soothing petting.
"It's been my life for a century," Helen snuggled over Nikola's lap better, taking his other hand and holding it, "I've missed my life, yes, but when I was building the new Sanctuary," she took a deep breath, "it's been everything I'd hoped for."
"Afraid it will fail?" Nikola guessed, lifting Helen's fingers to his lips and kissing them a moment.
"Yes," Helen closed her eyes, "I'm so close to finishing but what if it doesn't work? What if we get found out before I'm done?"
"Keep going," Nikola was still caressing Helen's hair, "you've never gone backwards on anything, don't let yourself now."
Helen held Nikola's fingers tighter.
"I have faith in you," Nikola leaned down to put a kiss to Helen's cheek.
Helen felt so much in that statement.
It wasn't a secret that Nikola was not religious. He'd said once before he only had faith in himself and humanities capacity for idiocy.
Yet he had faith in her.
As she had faith in him.
It hadn't been a line back at the facility.
It wasn't just her wanting him to try and save her son.
She really and truly did have faith in Nikola Tesla, in her friend.
And the man with no faith to speak of, had faith in her.
Helen reached with the hand Nikola wasn't holding and slid her fingers along the back of his head and turned hers.
They pressed their lips together in a so tender kiss.
Nothing was said.
Yet so much finally synced and made sense.
She would stop denying Nikola's place in her heart.
After all, despite the walls, he'd always been there.
And Nikola would keep his mask down around her. The false bravado, the surety in himself that was only sometimes there.
In essence he would be himself for her.
Nikola lifted his head and grinned, "one question."
Helen opened her eyes, "just one?"
"For the moment," Nikola's blue eyes were alight with mischief.
"What is your just one question?" Helen smiled.
"Who gets the right side of the bed?" Nikola asked.
Helen burst out laughing. She turned to hug Nikola tight as she let herself laugh as hard as she could.
"Didn't think it was that funny," Nikola smirked as he put his arms around Helen too.
"It was," Helen continued to giggle a bit, "you can have the right side, on one condition."
"And that would be?" Nikola nuzzled Helen's hair off her cheek then kissed it.
"No stealing the covers," Helen grinned, stealing a kiss as she gave her demand.
"I do not steal covers, Dr. Magnus," Nikola gave a playful growl, flashing fangs.
"Do too!" Helen reached up again to run her hand through Nikola's fluffy hair.
"Helen, you are the only person I know to steal covers from someone not sleeping in the same bed as you!" Nikola took a nip at Helen's wrist.
"Oh, wait I did do that," Helen giggled. She put her arms around Nikola as he suddenly stood with her in his arms.
"Yes, you did," Nikola walked with Helen to the bed and dropped her onto it eliciting a fresh rush of giggles.
"But I was cold," Helen grabbed Nikola's hand and yanked him into bed too.
"Helen, you walked down the hall, unlocked the door, folded up the blanket, put a different, smaller one on me, relocked the door and went back to bed," Nikola landed on his stomach beside Helen then propped his head on his hand as he rolled to his side.
"I was cold," Helen repeated as if that was a good enough explanation.
Nikola smirked then shot his hand out to her side.
"No!" Helen giggled and squirmed as Nikola's long fingers mercilessly tickled her.
"Make me," Nikola teased, getting that one spot under her ribs that made her almost scream her laughter.
"Nikola," Helen laughed, "Stop this," she tried to push his arms away, "this instant!"
Nikola took his hand back to let Helen breath.
She laughed and panted for a few minutes, her eyes slightly watery from laughing so hard.
"We have," Helen laid on her back, "to finish talking."
"I'll call a cease fire for this talk," Nikola waggled his eyebrows.
Helen shook her head, "good enough."
"You want me to pretend I don't know about the new Sanctuary," Nikola guessed, playing with one of Helen's curls.
"Yes," Helen sighed a little, "no one can no, not even Henry."
"They have to be suspicious," Nikola gave the curl a gentle tug.
"Yes," Helen moved her fingers over the tie of Nikola's robe, "William especially."
Nikola ran his hand over Helen's, "of course he is."
Helen didn't say anything for a few minutes, trying her best to not just spend the next half hour bad mouthing a member of her staff.
She hooked her pinky with Nikola's.
"Conversation for another day," Nikola kissed inside Helen's palm.
"Yes," Helen whispered, smiling at the kiss.
"What's your timetable?" Nikola continued to loosely hold Helen's fingers.
"Soon," Helen whispered, "depends on how fast some other things happen."
"Within the year?" Nikola guessed.
"Within the next few months, or less," Helen squeezed Nikola's fingers.
Nikola squeezed back, "I'll follow your lead."
"Thank you," Helen snuggled to Nikola's chest, "I promise, I'll explain everything once I'm finished on the surface."
"I know you will," Nikola kissed the top of Helen's head, "just remember, I have faith in you, and so does Henry."
Helen pressed her face to Nikola's skin. She was worried how Henry would take the massive transition. On top of that she's been keeping things from him.
Helen put her arm around Nikola and gripped his robe.
She didn't want to hurt her adoptive son.
Nikola ran his fingers through Helen's hair, "give Henry some credit. He knows something is coming."
"I know," Helen mumbled against Nikola, "I just worry."
"You are a mother," Nikola teased with a nuzzle, "not an expert but doesn't that come with the territory".
"Suppose I am," Helen took a deep breath, "and yes it does."
"You raised him this far," Nikola whispered, "let him do this last bit without the training wheels."
Helen laughed softly, "hard to let go."
"Just for a little," Nikola offered as he cuddled Helen better, "besides, he needs practice with some uncertainty that isn't related to being a father."
"Yes," Helen was a whole other set of nervous about becoming a grandmother. Oh dear, that was a whole new set of pitfalls she was sure.
One thing at a time, she reminded herself.
Nikola tugged the covers over them, "whatever happens, we'll face it together."
"Yes," Helen took a few deep breaths as she got comfy.
"Should come back here in the real world at some point," Nikola suggested.
"Maybe later," Helen yawned, "not sure I want to share you."
"Oh?" Nikola tangled their legs together better, "do tell."
"I'm always sharing you with the world," Helen closed her eyes, "hated you living in New York, in both timelines."
"Could have come to live with me," Nikola nuzzled, "conquered the big apple together.
"Would the world have survived?" Helen giggled sleepily.
"Oh I'm sure it would have had a fighting chance," Nikola stole a slightly giggly kiss.
"Guess we'll find out," Helen relaxed at the kiss.
"We will," Nikola pet Helen's hair a few more times as he closed his eyes.
The rain continued to fall outside the hotel, the sound of thunder moving even farther off.
Somehow, this seemed a fitting way to really understand where they would stand.
Helen tilted her head, ear resting to Nikola's chest, and listened to his heart beat.
Slower than a mortal's.
So strong and steady.
The feel of Nikola's heart, it was smooth and calming.
She could get very used to falling asleep to that feeling.
She was warm and safe. How often did she get to feel both?
The feel of Nikola's beating heart, his soft breathing, his fingers sort of absently moving over her arm, mixed with the rhythm of the heavy rain to let Helen stop thinking, just for a few minutes.
In dream, Helen drifted off. When she opened her eyes to her alarm, things felt more stable.
How that was true by knowing she was sharing dream with Nikola Tesla...
No, she knew how.
Nikola was the half she'd been needing.
The half to remind her that she might be more than human, live longer than most, but she was still mortal.
That her limits had their advantages.
And sometimes it was okay to let someone else do the worrying.
It wasn't that she would let someone else run her Sanctuary.
Not in a million years, even if she did live that long.
But she would get her best friend at her side again.
At one point, it was her and Nikola against the world. The foreigner with the radical ideas and the woman determined to have a place in a "man's" world.
There was a certain excitement and happiness to be that way again.
It was time to begin.