Chapter 2

Rating: Mature
Spoiler: season 3 set after the finale, assuming that they got HG Wells back
Disclaimer: If I did own the rights to these lovely ladies they would have a lot more fun – trust me.
Summary: Spending time with Helen Magnus and HG Wells Myka learns more about Helena's past. Getting ready to spend the night at the Sanctuary Helena and Myka have a little talk and things start to move forward in the right direction.

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"You see, Myka," Magnus said and smiled at Myka. "I knew Helena a very long time ago. When she was a child in fact."

"I was no child when I became your lover," Helena said and laughed.

Myka bit her lip hard as she watched Helena laugh and lean closer to Magnus, kissing her on the cheek. It was obvious that Helena still loved Helen Magnus.

"True, darling, but the first time we met, you were a child. A very stubborn and angry child if I remember correctly."

Helena made a face and sipped her tea. She looked at Myka with a cheeky grin.

"Helen came to visit with my parents at our country home. I was ten years old and could not care less about some boring visitor. I spent the morning with my friends ending up winning Edward, the stable lad's pants in a game. I was so excited. My father had confiscated the pants that I had previously borrowed from Charles," Helena said with a laugh. "So dressed in my chemise, and pants that were much too large for me, I went riding with two of my friends."

"You should have seen her, Myka, when she came towards us on the horse," Helen said with a fond smile at Helena. "She was so full of life, laughing as she took the lead, her hair having escaped its confinement, whipping behind her. She came to a stop a few feet away from us and leaped out of the saddle, grinning at her father, hopeful as ever for praise."

"Praise that never came," Helena said with a deep sigh.

Helen caressed her hair and pulled Helena's head down against her shoulder.

"He was stuck in the old ways, darling."

"I know, but it still seems so unfair."

"So, he was upset with you?" Myka butted in.

"Upset? He was furious!" Helena huffed. "He told me to go upstairs and have nanny give me a bath and change into clothes fitting for a girl."

Helen smiled fondly at her. "I thought you were precious."

Helena looked at Myka as she continued. "My father stormed off, but Helen, sweet darling Helen walked with me to the stable. At first I was not very interested in talking to her, too busy sulking, but the more she talked to me, the more I knew that she actually understood, and that she agreed with me."

"Of course I understood, dearest," Magnus said and kissed Helena's forehead.

Myka glanced at the clock on the mantle. "It's late."

"Yes of course," Helen said and got up. "You must be tired. Please allow me to escort you to your rooms."

"Perhaps we can discuss the artifact first?" Myka said and took a step towards Magnus.

"Naturally," Magnus said and walked over to her coat, pulling out a wrapped object from one of her coat pockets.

"Don't," Myka warned as Magnus started to unwrap it. "Let me."

Myka quickly put on a pair of purple gloves and took the bundle from Magnus. Behind her she heard the snap from Helena shaking the neutralizing bag open. Myka unwrapped the cloth and grabbed the device inside, dropping it into the bag.

"Cover your eyes," she warned and turned away as sparks flew.

"Interesting," Magnus mumbled.

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"I hope that you will be comfortable here," Magnus said and smiled at Myka. "I arranged for the two of you to have connecting rooms. I thought you might be more comfortable that way."

"Thank you, that's very thoughtful of you," Myka said with a tired smile.

"I will leave you to it then."

Myka nodded and watched Magnus and Helena continue down the hall and enter the room next door. She closed the door to her room and leaned against it with a deep sigh. Trying to be generous and think about what comfort it must be for Helena to find her long lost friend alive, Myka did her best to ignore that little nagging voice inside that kept taunting her with images of what the two women might be doing in the room next door.

Finally shaking the funky feeling, Myka pushed off from the door and looked around the room. It was beautiful in an old fashioned kind of way. She carefully put down the artifact bag on the coffee table and then draped her coat over the back of a chair. Noticing her small overnight bag sitting by the foot of the bed she smiled. Count on someone as resourceful as Helen Magnus to see to that their things were brought to them. Deciding that she needed a shower before bed, Myka opened her bag to grab some night clothes before heading to the bathroom.

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Myka felt a lot better after her shower. She glanced at her reflection in the quickly fogging mirror as she toweled herself dry. Making a mental note to get a haircut soon, she hung up her towel and reached for the tank top sitting on the counter next to the sink. Before she had a chance to put it on, the door opened.

"I am so sorry," Helena said and looked at Myka with surprise on her face. She then eyed Myka up and down as an appreciative smile graced her lips. "It appears, darling, that we are to share a bathroom."

"You could've knocked," Myka muttered and slipped the tank top over her head, turning away from Helena. She jumped when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. "Helena! I'm half naked."

"I know," Helena purred. "And by the looks of it, it's a shame that you are hiding your body under men's underwear."

Myka laughed and shook her head. Finally dressed in boxers and a tank top she turned and faced Helena.

"These happen to be women's clothes, Helena."

"Is that so?" Helena said and tilted her head. "Well, I find them charming on you, though as I said, you looked better without them."

Reaching behind Helena, Myka grabbed her toothbrush. She stopped when Helena's hand once again landed on her shoulder. She looked up at Helena's face and noticed a change in her demeanor. Helena seemed almost sad.

"What's wrong?"

"Did I say something wrong? Does it bother you that I find you attractive, Myka?" Helena said very seriously.

Myka sighed and put down her toothbrush. Turning to face Helena she put her hands on Helena's shoulders.

"Of course not. I'm flattered. To get a compliment from someone as stunning and charming as HG Wells is really something," Myka said and smiled.

"You find me attractive as well?" Helena asked, with a hopeful look on her face.

"Of course I do," Myka said and rolled her eyes. "You know that you are a beautiful woman, Helena."

"There's a difference between finding a woman beautiful and being attracted to her," Helena pointed out.

"Well, you're a beautiful woman, Helena, and I definitely find you attractive," Myka mumbled and turned away. "Don't worry. I don't expect anything from you, Helena. It's obvious that you still have feelings for Helen Magnus."

Myka grabbed her toothbrush again and turned on the water assuming that Helena would get the hint and leave. Not much luck of that it appeared. Helena grabbed her wrist and then turned off the water. Myka sighed in annoyance and opened her mouth to object.

"Myka, don't," Helena said very gently. She touched Myka's cheek and smiled at her. "I thought that I had made my attraction to you clear, but it appears that I have been less than stellar in my performance if I have failed to make you feel it."

"Helena…"

Helena touched Myka's lips and Myka closed her mouth again. Her eyes widened a bit when Helena wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling her closer.

"Please finish what you were doing and allow me to take a bath too, and perhaps we can converse further on the matter afterwards. I so desire to talk to you, if that is acceptable."

Myka nodded, finding Helena's nervous regression to her old ways of speaking quite endearing. Helena kissed her cheek.

"Wonderful. I will leave you to it then."

Myka watched Helena close the door behind her and quickly grabbed the toothbrush. Finishing in the bathroom she knocked on the door to Helena's room.

"All yours Helena."

"Thank you, darling," came through the closed door.

Myka left and closed her door to the bathroom behind her. Her room was little chilly so she slipped under the covers with the book she had started on the flight to Old City. In a matter of minutes she had lost herself in the interesting tale.

About twenty minutes later there was a soft knock on her bathroom door.

"Myka?"

"Come in."

Helena stepped through the door. Dressed in a knee length silky nightgown with a matching robe flowing behind her she crossed the room to sit on Myka's bed. She placed her hand on top of Myka's and smiled at her. Feeling the chill in the room she pulled her feet up and covered her legs with her robe.

Myka moved over and folded down the comforter. Helena, understanding the silent gesture, slipped into bed next to Myka with a happy sigh. She pushed two pillows behind her so she could sit up more comfortably. Once settled she turned to Myka.

"Myka, Helen and I were lovers a very long time ago, at least for her," she said seriously. "For me it seems like it was only a short couple of years ago, though I understand that in reality it was over a century ago."

"You still love her, don't you?" Myka said feeling the sadness from Helena.

"I do, but not like you think." Helena ran her hand through her hair. "I kissed her tonight. I expected it to feel the same…"

"And did it?"

"No," Helena said so softly Myka almost thought she had imagined it.

Helena turned to face Myka. She smiled at her and touched Myka's cheek.

"Helen Magnus was my first lover, and the one that always remained with me. I watched her take other lovers, and even though I was happy for her, I always felt a sting of jealousy."

Myka sighed and nodded. She had never experienced love like that, but she had heard about it, and of course she had read about it.

"And now, a century later you still love her, but she doesn't return your feelings the way you want her to," Myka summarized. "I'm so sorry, Helena."

Helena moved closer and rested her head on Myka's shoulder, almost surprised when Myka allowed the touch.

"That was what I thought, but kissing her made me realize that what we once had really is not there anymore. I still desire her. She is after all a stunning woman. However, the passionate love I once felt has now simmered to a fondness of a different kind."

"I'm glad that you found her, Helena. I really am," Myka said honestly. As much as it would hurt to lose Helena, she cared about her happiness.

"Thank you, darling. I don't think that you quite understand how important she is to me. How important she has always been."

"She seems to be very special."

"She truly is," Helena said with a deep sigh. "I was so innocent, almost naïve when I first started to pursue her."

"You went after her?" Myka said surprised. She had been certain that Helen had been the one to seduce Helena.

"I did," Helena said with a cheeky grin. "I saw her once with another woman. After that I watched things around me much more carefully and came to understand that many of the women I knew favored a woman's companionship. Helen was never one to put labels on anyone, especially not herself. She loved freely, not limited by a person's gender."

"She was older than you."

"She was, is. I was sent to stay with her as I was introduced to London. After enough persuasion, Helen finally gave in to the mutual affection between us."

"Wow," Myka whispered. She tried to envision these two Victorian women together and it was surprisingly easy.

"Helen was an amazing lover. From the first time she touched me I felt like I was worshipped. Later I learned that lovemaking was many times disappointing since the knowledge of the female body was clouded by most men, and even discouraged to discover."

"What do you mean?" Myka said with a frown.

"That a proper woman should not necessarily feel pleasure when being intimate with a man. Rubbish I tell you, absolute rubbish!"

"That's awful," Myka said with a shiver.

"Helen taught me to love, and to share love in return. Thanks to her I demanded that from all my lovers after her, and I lavished my love on them."

Myka smiled and nodded. She gently ran her fingers through Helena's hair, marveling at its softness. Untangling an unruly lock she twirled it around her finger.

"It never occurred to me ever, not to feel pleasure while making love," she said softly. "Sometimes it was not as good as other times, but I still expected to be touched intimately and for my partner to try to give me an orgasm."

Helena grinned at her. "I am so glad to hear that. Perhaps someday you will show me?"

Myka blushed and bit her lip. Helena laughed and cupped her face. She nuzzled Myka's cheek and ear as she moved closer, draping her leg over Myka's.

"Helena?"

To be continued...