HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MISS POOKAMONGA!

Okay so it's not her birthday. Her birthday is in 10 days. So in honor of my dear friend, for the next 10 days I will be posting updates from this story at intervals I'll figure out soon enough. I warn you that I'm not as good a writer as her and I also haven't actually seen that much of Sanctuary (all of seasons 1 and 2 and then only the Tesla episodes after that). However, she does seem to have some loyal Teslen-shipping followers and I could use a few extra victims… I MEAN READERS! *innocent face* Anyway, here is update number one. Just so you all know, it is currently September 19th so I got started a bit early. If anyone is OOC, I'm very sorry. Like I said, I am not that familiar with the show.

Before I start the chapter, I'll post the episode I watched so I could write the characters properly. This bit of background may help you figure out why I write them in a certain way. Today it was Resistance.

Best wishes from someone who doesn't like Sanctuary all that much but STILL ships Teslen,

~KateMarie999

P.S. My computer wanted to correct "Teslen" as "tussle" and that seemed oddly fitting.

Chapter One: Civil

Nikola Tesla was not known for his good timing. He wasn't known for his manners either. In fact, he wasn't really known for all that much (that fool Edison had taken care of that and it would take more than a girl's computer game to gain him any amount of fame*). But if there was one thing he was glad to be notorious for (even in a small social circle), it was his feelings for a certain British doctor named Helen Magnus.

For over a hundred years, the scientist never strayed too far from her. For the first few decades since realizing his passion for her, he had gone through quite the emotional ringer thanks to Helen's other suitor (he didn't like to dwell on that idiot for too long**). But finally common sense had won out and Helen was now completely available.

And completely mine, thought Nikola with a smirk. Their relationship up to this point had been, for them, as amorous as ever. That was to say, they fought far less than usual and could even be caught in the same room for longer than five minutes without any animosity whatsoever. In a century of friendship, this was probably the most friendly they'd ever been.

As a matter of fact, Nikola thought with an actual smile now, she'd even become comfortable with physical contact. She had placed her hands on his shoulders the previous week for a reason other than strangulation. He had been working late into the night up until the morning and she had actually come up behind him and rubbed his back as she told him he needed rest. For Helen and Nikola, that was at least third base.

Finally after a week of deliberating and considering every single possibility that could result from his planned encounter, Nikola sat back in his chair, smiling to himself. Helen would be along any moment now. It was finally time to put what he had planned to work.

"This had better be important!" Helen exclaimed, throwing open the door without bothering to knock on it. "I left some very delicate research behind because you said this was urgent."

"Nice to know I'm a high priority." Nikola said, not moving.

Helen gave him an exasperated look. "So what is it you need?" she asked at last, crossing her arms and staring at him in such a way that Nikola thought she was probably trying to be intimidating.

"Oh Helen," Nikola sighed, standing up and slowly walking toward her. "Must you be so short with me?"

Helen rolled her eyes. "Just get to the point, Nikola."

Nikola paused for a second, still smiling in a way he knew was driving Helen crazy. "As you wish. I've noticed over the last few weeks that you and I have been… civil."

"Civil?" Helen narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yes." said Nikola, walking even closer to her with a smug smile on his face. "Almost friendly."

"Nikola Tesla, if you don't get to the point or let me get back to my research right now, what I do to you won't be civil." Helen snapped.

Nikola chuckled. "Must you take the fun out of everything?"

Helen gave him an incredulous look and didn't respond. Nikola sensed that she didn't trust herself to reply for fear that she might actually hurt him. This thought made his smile widen even more.

"Very well." he said, now standing so close to her that he could feel her breath on his face. She didn't move away from him. "In light of our… civility, I would like to propose a social experiment."

"Why Nikola, I never knew you were so fascinated with the social sciences." Helen's face was now centimeters from his.

"Ordinarily I'm not, however this particular experiment has been on my mind for about a century." Nikola whispered into her ear.

"And what experiment is this?" Helen asked, not bothering to keep her voice down.

"Well I thought perhaps we could venture into the outside world, as horrifying as that probably sounds to you," (Helen rolled her eyes at this) "and find ourselves a quiet place in which to have dinner. Alone, of course." Nikola's voice was barely audible now but she caught every word.

"So let me get this straight." she looked into his eyes. "You called me away from delicate and extremely important research to ask me out on a date?"

"Oh Helen, must we use such mundane terms?" Nikola reached up and placed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I would prefer to think of it as a culmination of a century's worth of unconsummated sexual tension."

He thought he could see her suppress a smile at this. Good, this was working. He knew she couldn't resist his charm. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, not breaking eye contact once.

"Am I to assume you will be paying for it?" Helen asked at last, finally looking away from him.

"Of course." he replied. "That seems to be the social convention."

Helen looked up at him once more and they stared at each other yet again. Silent stares were beginning to become a staple of theirs.

"Oh all right." she said at last. "This Friday at seven. And don't be late."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Nikola said, winking at her now. "I'll let you get back to your research."

"Yes well… good night, Nikola." she said at last, finally turning from him and heading toward the door.

"Good night, Helen." said Nikola, still grinning in that insufferably smug way.

But what Nikola didn't know was that the moment the door separated the two, Helen's face broke into a large, very genuine smile.

"Oh get a hold of yourself." Helen muttered to herself as she walked to her car. "It's one date. It's not as if this is going anywhere."

But try as she might, she simply could not deny the fact that her heart was still beating fast even hours after the encounter.

*There is, in fact a girl's computer game that prominently features Nikola Tesla and information about his life and research. You even play with Tesla coils. It's called Nancy Drew: The Deadly Device and Miss Pookamonga and I highly recommend it. It's loads of fun and it's not just for girls and it's also not as easy as you'd think.

**I couldn't remember the other guy's name and was too lazy to look it up. John something… or maybe it was Jack. Started with a J.

This is actually the unedited version I wrote on September 19th. It is currently October 14th and I'm reading this over again. It's astounding how much I've changed as a writer. First of all, I'd forgotten John Druitt's name (LOL) and second, I realized I was writing this while on hiatus from Pirate's Cove so my vast improvements as a writer really don't factor into it. This is a total blast from the past and I think I'm going to be completely silent on which chapters I keep as is and which I edit. So it's a fun guessing game for Miss Pookamonga! Guess when I did the October edits and what chapters I kept the same! I think it'll be pretty obvious but let's see how you do.