So, this got longer than I was expecting. Decided to keep it as one chapter as it all seemed to roll in together. Back to work tomorrow so will try and get something written today to keep the updates rolling. I hope you enjoy. For agrainne24 who simply rocks Tasha. Xx

Chapter 2

Helen was the last person you would expect to find having a lie-in. Especially when there was so much going on around her, but she was pregnant and frustrated. She loved the idea of the baby growing in her womb; she did not love the tiredness it was creating in her body. Nor did she appreciate the idea that simply being pregnant made her incapable of completing the simplest of tasks. In fact it seemed quite likely that the true reason for her laziness that morning was that every other member of her team was currently out on a mission they had been planning for months, yet here she was stuck with nothing but her own company.

Of course the big guy was around, and he was making her as much tea as she could ever drink, but even he seemed to be getting a little frustrated with her mood. She wasn't angry, but it seemed that her frustration and annoyance was starting to show through in everything she did, and her old friend had simply known her for long enough to know when there was no point in even trying to argue with her. So he simply bought in fresh cups of tea, took away the empty cups and left her to it.

Gently Helen pushed herself up from the sleeping position she held on the bed. She was getting stiff and the sun streaming through her window was moving to such a position that she knew the afternoon was quickly approaching. Despite her wallowing attitude she had no intention of wasting the whole day. She was sure there were a multitude of tasks she could find to keep herself occupied while the rest of them completed the mission she had been planning for the past few months. She had been sure that taking a leading role in planning the missions would ease the great frustration she felt at not being able to partake in them. She had not accounted for the idea that it would in fact feel a greater sense of frustration at not being able to see the task right through to the end. If one thing was for sure, Helen Magnus was a perfectionist.

Sitting herself against the headboard she stretched her legs out before moving her hands around to cup them underneath her swelling stomach. The baby had been moving around more and more in the past few days. She was almost 30 weeks pregnant to the day, and all of the pregnancy guides and information noted this as the stage that the baby would start to move around a lot more. Not only that but the decreasing space around the baby meant the movements and kicks were becoming more defined and painful. 'Come on baby, settle down for a bit little one.' She tried to mimic the soothing moments Nikola used to calm the baby, but the more the baby moved the more stressed she could feel herself becoming.

'Bloody hell…' She could hear her voice crack and the tears start to roll down her cheeks as she became more and more frustrated with everything that was going on around her. Not knowing what else to do she reached across to where her phone sat on the table next to her bed and dialled the number she knew off by heart.

…

Nikola had been out on the mission for the past hours, yet the whole time something had been distracting him, he couldn't keep his mind off Helen. There had been huge changes in her physical self as well as the emotional side of things in the past few days. Very rarely had he seen her cry before, yet in the past week she had broken down around him almost daily, all it had taken had been the wrong word or a gentle touch and she would be sobbing on his shoulder. He hated that he didn't know how she was going to react to things, never mind not being able to comfort her when she was feeling so unstable in her own emotions.

'You alright Vlad?' Henry was the one to try and crack through the exterior Nikola had been putting on for the whole day, there had been no dry humour…none of the normal sarcasm. In fact he had been nothing but quiet for the whole time they had been out. All of them knew that everything between him and Helen was a big thing, and the baby was only a few months away now. It was a scary prospect for anyone to deal with, never mind a vampire who had spent over five lifetimes only having to think about himself.

'Pardon.' Nikola looked up from his own thoughts towards the concerned young man in front of him. 'Oh…did I do something wrong?' He looked down towards the equipment in his hand, he flicked a couple of switches to make sure that the machine was up and running before passing it back to Henry.

'Go home Nikola…go and talk to her…' Henry walked towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder. 'There doesn't seem much point in you being here, when it's quite clear that you can't stop thinking about her.' He ran his hand down his arm before gently bring his hand into a fist and lightly punching the vampire on his arm.

Nikola looked up at him. 'I'll be fine…she'll be fine…' Nikola couldn't help but wonder whether his voice sounded quite so unconvincing as he felt inside, he wanted nothing more than to go straight back to the sanctuary and wrap his arms around Helen, but there was something about it that made him want to stay. He didn't want to overcrowd her, or drive her away. He wanted to give her the space she so craved.

'If you say so…' Henry broke off as they both heard Nikola's phone start to ring in the pocket of his trousers. Watching him pull the small device out of his pocket it was clear from the look on his face that Helen was on the phone. 'So are you going to answer it then?' Henry quickly folded his arms and cocked his head. He couldn't help but let out a smile that Nikola did very quickly pick up the phone.

'You alright darling?' Nikola knew from the tone of the woman on the edge of the phone that it was a silly question, he looked towards Henry and gently nodded before grabbing the keys to one of the cars and making his way back to the Sanctuary, and back to her.

…

Helen stood in the large room they had picked out to be the nursery. She had finally managed to pick out an outfit that accommodated for her changing shape. She wasn't someone that normally liked the idea or look of leggings, but the stretch of the material meant that they came up over her bump. Then the loose long line shirt she had put on over the top was normally loose enough that it meant her bump pushed out underneath and fitted snugly over the top. It wasn't perfect but she hadn't had the time to go out and buy anything to fit any better.

Looking down she gently flexed her feet. The stubborn streak in her had put her normal heels back on her feet. However she was already starting to regret it. The swelling in her feet was pushing out against the normally perfect fitting shoes, and she could already feel the blisters starting. Sighing she went and sat in the single chair placed in the corner of the room. Reaching down she tried to unhook the straps to the shoes, something that was easier said than done, she tried several more times before letting out a frustrated scream and flopping back into the chair.

'Sounds like you could do with a hand?' Nikola walked into the room and tried to smile at the frustrated woman in front of them. However he quickly realised his mistake when she shot him a devastating look through her tear stained eyes. Quickly he moved over to kneel by her feet and gently started undoing the straps to her tight shoes. Carefully he untwisted the intricate straps before pulling the first shoe off. Instead of instantly putting her foot back down on the floor he lifted it up so he could gently kiss the sensitive skin. Once he was happy the first foot had been soothed he gently placed it down before moving on to the next one. 'Now the question is…what one earth made you decide to put these silly things on in the first place my love?'

He gently ran his hands up and down her legs hoping that he could soothe the upset he knew was running through her body.

'Something to do with wanting to feel like me again…' Helen stretched back in the chair, there was no doubt that Nikola's gentle touch and soothing had calmed the pain in her feet as well as calming her down. Unfortunately it had also served to make her feel extremely emotional all over again, she was unable to stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks once more. 'God I am so sorry Nikola…why on earth are you still hear…' She felt the sobs become heavier and heavier as her chest started heaving with the force of her sobs.

Nikola quickly stood up and took hold of her hands so he could gently pull Helen from her place on the chair. Carefully he took her into his arms and rested her head against his shoulder while he started to rub the comforting circles across her back. Slowly he could feel her body calm as the sobs slowed before eventually stopping. He twisted his head so he could gently kiss her hair as well as taking in the familiar smell of hers that she so loved. 'Better?' He gently pulled back and placed a finger under her chin so he could look straight into the eyes he so loved. 'God you are beautiful.' He looked over her face and down her body before gently kissing her forehead once more.

Helen looked at him and gently laughed. 'I look like a whale Nikola…nothing fits and I am a crying mess…I feel barely human let alone feeling anywhere near beautiful.' She gently lifted both of her hands so she could cup either side of his face and pulling him down so she could kiss the bridge of his nose.

Nikola looked at her. 'Are you being serious my darling?' He pulled away before dropping to his knees in front of her. Slowly he lifted the soft shirt before rolling down the waistband of her leggings exposing the stretched skin of her stomach. He rubbed his hands across her before focusing on her gentle tummy button that was forcing its way further out of her body with each passing day. He ran his finger across the gentle piece of skin before leaning in to place kisses from one side of her stomach to the other. 'You little one are giving your Mumma a lot of trouble here…' He traced a hand from where they believed the babies head rested across and down to where the legs sat. He loved the thought that there baby was inside of her, that every passing day was seeing the baby grow a little bit more. Even for a scientist he found the whole process of pregnancy amazing. The fact that one night between them was going to lead to a beautiful baby entering the world.

'Nikola Tesla…anyone would think you were becoming soft in your old age.' She let out the first laugh she had managed in several days. The laugh increased in volume and hilarity as Nikola blew a rather large raspberry against the skin of her stomach. It still amazed her in some ways that Nikola had an amazing talent to make her laugh even when she was feeling so low.

'I don't know what you mean Miss Magnus.' Gently he lifted the leggings waistband back up before letting out a small chuckle. However looking at the interesting ensemble your wearing today I would suggest that tomorrow we head out and spend some money on some things you actually want to wear?' He bought the cotton shirt back down over her stomach before standing back to his feet.

'You don't have to do that Nikola. I've got things to wear…it's not like I'm going to be leaving this place in the next ten weeks.' She motioned around her before gently biting her lip. She hated admitting how trapped she was feeling, that she wasn't sure she could drag herself from the room she was in.

'No…but I want to, and another thing I want is to take you out. Yes your rather pregnant, but that doesn't mean that we can't still make the most of it.' He took both of her hands before wrapping his own around her waist and pulling her closer to him. 'I promise you that for every week up until this little one is born we will be going out for dinner and making the most of the time we have just being us.' He leant his head down once more and kissed her as only he could. Making sure that she realised just how much the words meant, and exactly how he felt about her.

'I'm not sure…' Helen tried to protest against the words before Nikola silenced her once more with a kiss.

'No arguments my love, as you have always maintained, you are pregnant, not an invalid.' He kissed her again. 'I was thinking while we were out, just because you can't be on the field in a mission, it certainly doesn't mean that you can't be involved. There are so many different ways that you can help. Even with a pregnancy brain you are somewhat of a genius.'

'Cheeky bugger.' She playfully hit him on the arm before relaxing into his touch. She curled her first gently into his chest, holding on tight to everything that she loved about him. 'I love you Nikola…you really are amazing.'

'Now…we have ten weeks…and one very very empty nursery. I am assuming that you have a colour scheme in mind for this place?' He gently led her to the large window so they could look out across the Sanctuary grounds.

'It was pretty difficult since you wouldn't let me find out the gender…' She looked up at him with a look that she knew always got him going. With a quick flutter of her eyelids she spoke again. 'That is unless you've changed your mind?' She gently squeezed his waist with the hand that was trailed around it.

Nikola looked at her and sighed. 'Dear God Helen…the things that you do to me…' He kissed her before gently rubbing a hand once more across her stomach. 'If this little one had even half of your charm and persuasion then I may have to re-learn the art of saying no.'

Helen smiled up at him. 'Oh but Nikola, I seem to recall that being part of the reason you love me quite so much.' She trailed her hand back down so she could give a gentle squeeze to the posterior she loved so much. 'So was that a yes then?'

A/N Hope you enjoyed. Reviews make me grin like an idiot. Especially when I'm all snotty and gross. Tasha. xx