Disclaimer--I don't own these characters. I'm just messing with them cuz my brain told me too.
I changed a few things from the way the episodes of season2 have played out, hopefully for the better; I think you'll spot them as you go. This is my first story so bear with me if I crash and burn :-)
Helen's heartbeat skipped and then began beating at a slightly elevated level. She was extremely self conscious of this since she new very well he could hear the beat of her heart and the quick pace at which it was now beating was no doubt the reason his smile had expanded ever so slightly to show one long canine. He stood from where he had previously been seated and made as if to come towards her but Big Guy stepped towards him saying,
"Where is it you think you're going?"
Turning his smile to a slight snarl as he looked at Big Guy, he replied,
"It's bad manners not to rise and greet a beautiful woman when she enters a room, especially if that room belongs to her and you are a guest in it."
Helen, ignoring the fact her face must be slightly sanguine, stepped forward before Big Guy could growl something about having no manners back and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I'll take it from here. Thank you. Why don't you go see if you can help Henry?"
Big Guy nodded and shot one last death glare over his shoulder before retreating out the door. As Helen turned a slight "tsk" sound came from him and he said,
"You would think the hairy man would appreciate the fact I'm the one who created the antibiotic that allowed him to live and that I stemmed the outbreak single handedly. Genius' are just so under appreciated these days."
Helen rolled her eyes every so slightly and questioned,
"Are you here simply to gloat Nikola, or is there a real reason you've showed up at my doorstep?"
The smile had returned, bringing with it a slight incandescent glint to his dark eyes.
"As you may have noticed, I did not return right after stemming said outbreak," He commented, taking a few steps forward.
"Yes, I had." Helen responded stepping back to perch herself on the edge of her desk and widen the gap Nikola was trying to close in an attempt to ease the thumping of her heart.
"Aren't you curious where I went?"
Helen was extremely curious and had pondered his disappearance rather frequently, but simply said,
"I suppose I'm going to find out, whether I am or not."
The smile faded slightly as Nikola stopped about a foot from Helen and replied,
"You are indeed."
"So?" Helen prodded, gazing into the vast depth of his eyes.
"So I was doing the same thing you were," Nikola informed her, the smile gone now, "I was looking for information about Ashley, which I got."
Helen's breath snapped to halt and she stood up. Her eyes searched and pleaded his for this knowledge. Nikola looked at the ground and then returned her gaze with a sad look, sighing,
"It's not good Helen," he paused a moment then continued, "I managed to catch two high-up guys in the Cabal. The first told me they've got her full of drugs to control her completely. They're still working on her which is why she hasn't been seen. "
Pain and anger flashed strong in Helen's eyes as he spoke but that was only a fleeting indication she was upset and anyone else would have missed. Nikola saw it clearly, and heard the anger thumping her chest, so he took her hand gently saying,
"But the second man told me they are going to use her, and soon. All he said was something about information the Cabal needed that she could get."
"What sort? Without any idea as to what the Cabal wants we have no hope of intercepting Ashley and bringing her back here." Helen muttered with just a hint of despair.
Nikola gave her hand a slight squeeze.
"I'm sure we can come up with something with a little help from Mr. Foss."
Helen was comforted quite a bit by the feeling of Nikola holding her hand, and by his soft, logical words.
"Quite right. Let's go find Henry and see what we can come up with." Helen conceded, and without letting go of Nikola's hand she swept out her office.
Going down the hallway towards the elevator Nikola allowed himself a small moment of glee and a smile. Her hand, on top grasping his gently, was silky and he relished this moment of contact. He didn't know for sure why she was holding his hand, but at that moment it didn't really matter.
Helen, however, was quite sure why; it brought a small dose sanity. She was doing her best to keep a level head about the news that Nikola had brought and for some reason holding his hand was the key. A small part of her mind was soaking in the feeling of his slightly rough hand beneath her own, storing it away to process and enjoy it again later.
She kept a quick pace and in a short moment they reached the elevator. Helen was about to reach out her other hand to push the button when the doors slid open to reveal Will standing there, looking hurried.
"Magnus I was just coming to find you," Will exclaimed, "Henry has something."
"Good, we were heading that way. Nikola has brought some news of Ashley." she replied stepping into the elevator, Nikola in tow.
Will instantly noticed Helen's hand was grasping Nikola's but thought better of saying something and instead asked as the elevator descended,
"What do you know?"
Nikola quickly explained with Helen adding in the part about his idea about collaborating with Henry to see what they could find. As Will soaked in this information, and contemplated the hand hold, the elevator doors slid open and Helen lead the way to Henry's lab. Before entering Helen, quite reluctantly, let go of Nikola's hand to tuck an imaginary stray piece of hair behind her ear, deciding it was better for Big Guy not to see them holding hands. Nikola did not mind he was pleasantly surprised she had not let go sooner, especially when they bumped into Will.
"Hey Doc I've got something about Ash...ley," Henry pivoted on his chair at the sound of footsteps entering but his voice trailed off as he spotted the vampire following Helen into the room.
"Yes I know what have you got?" Helen queried ignoring the fact Henry, and Big Guy, were both blatantly staring at Nikola.
"I've got this building that was robbed last night," Henry explained switching his gaze to Helen's face, "Highest tech security and somebody got in, stole about 200 gigabytes of information, and got out without tripping a single alarm."
"Well, seems as though I got some very correct information but was too late." Nikola spoke softly from the corner of the room he was now occupying.
"You think it was Ashley?" Will asked.
"It makes sense," Nikola replied, "Who else wouldn't trip any alarms? Unless Druitt's playing for both teams which actually wouldn't surprise me…"
"So what's our move Doc?" Henry jumped in.
"Draw up some ID for Will and so he can go and get copies of whatever it is they took," turning to Will, Helen instructed, "Leave as soon as you can to get there and back before the end of the day. "
~ Three Hours Later ~
Helen sat in her office leafing through some old files and trying to think what the Cabal's possible endgame could be. Her mind however, was not cooperating. It wanted to contemplate Nikola's actions, and remember the feel of his hand in her own. Throwing the file on the floor beside her chair she gazed out the window, giving into her mind and beginning to brood over Nikola. She had never really imagined that Nikola would do something so self-less, especially not for her daughter.
"He told you why Helen, he loves you…" Her mind whispered.
This took her aback slightly, but when looking at everything put together, it was glaringly obvious. She began to wonder whether, maybe, she felt that way too. After all, it was the touch of his hand that hand stopped her from flying into a hopeless rage at what the Cabal was doing to her child, what torture they were inflicting, what pain she felt…
Walking to Helen's office Nikola found the door open and saw her sitting there, throw a file to the floor, gaze up and start intently looking out the window to space. He paused to lean on the doorframe and watch her. The afternoon light was pouring into the office and reflecting gently off her locks of hair cascading over her shoulders that he imaged were equally soft as her hand. Her luxuriously long legs were crossed with one hand gently alighted a top one knee. She was so very beautiful.
Without warning her head dropped and she began to weep silently but Nikola could hear it clearly. Instantly Nikola moved from where he was leaning and crossed the room to her side. He knelt down and lifted a hand to her face wiping away the tears dripping from her stunning eyes. Helen, slightly aghast that anybody had walked in on her in this moment, was even more shocked at the tender way Nikola was treating her.
"Helen," he murmured, "it will be alright."
She looked up at the sweet sound of her name coming from Nikola's mouth. Tears, however, continued to slip and slide down her cheeks.
"We will find Ashley. We will save her." Nikola assured her, still wiping away tears, "I promise."
Helen could see the conviction in his eyes, something she had failed to see in Johns while they were out doing their own search. She slid forward, grabbing his jacket pulling herself into Nikola, and burying her head in his chest. A little stunned Nikola encircled her with his arms holding her to him.
"Thank you, Nikola." Helen murmured quietly.
He brushed his lips against the top of her head in a reassuring gesture. They sat there like that for a few minutes. Helen savored the comfort she was finding in his arms. Each breath that rose in his chest brought a new wave of calm over her. Pressed to his body she could here the beat of his heart. Nikola held her gently to him, rubbing her back ever slightly. Then Helen pulled back and peered into his eyes, each one's breath landing on the others face. She moved her lips, and then footsteps were heard bounding down the hallway. Both rose swiftly to their feet and took a pace back just before Henry came leaping into the room.
"Will's back with all the boxes. And he's not the only one who's showed up for the fun." He announced.
Before following Henry out of the room Helen gave one last smiling glance at Nikola who returned it with his usual playful grin.
A/N I don't remember all the details off hand so if the amount of gigabytes is off, my apologies :-)
