Nikola groggily opened his eyes and groaned at the sharp pain jolting down his side, arm and face as well as the dull ache resounding in his skull from the fight. Suddenly alert he looked up to see the creature lying where he had left it, seemingly asleep from the voltage it had been given but from the rise and fall of its chest he saw it was alive and the eggs appeared to be fine too, still sitting in their nest. The only indication any time had passed at all was the fact his left arm was now in a sling.
"You're finally awake then," Helen announced returned from an adjoining passageway and sitting down beside him.
"How long was I out?" he asked curiously.
"A while," she answered cryptically glancing at her watch, "its now half past midnight."
"Oh no," Nikola gasped as his heart sunk, he could only look away sorrowfully.
He had slept through Valentine's Day, he was so mad at himself, he had wanted her to have the perfect day, to prove he was good enough for her but now it wouldn't happen, by his own hand. Now he'd have to wait a year at the least and even then it was no guarantee. Now though he would have to wait. She was worth waiting for, like vintage wine only so much sweeter and infinitely more worthwhile, he'd wait eternity if he had too but he had so wanted it to be today. He had wanted it so badly, he had wanted her so badly.
"I know you're upset Nikola," Helen offered comfortingly, "I know how badly you wanted to see Paris and drink fine wine and all that, I'm sorry I got us trapped down here with Godzilla instead."
"I thought you weren't calling it Godzilla?" he questioned glancing at her, "besides its a female."
"The name's kind of grown on me," she answered slyly giving him a small smile, "regardless of her gender."
He could only return her smile and wonder if her change of heart had anything to do with the fact he had saved her life, not that he really minded what she called it. At the end of the day all he cared about was the fact that she was alive and so was he, he just wished he could have shown her the perfect day and proved his worth to her.
"Maybe when we get out we can spend tomorrow touring Paris and drinking wine and everything," she offered kindly, "I know its not what you wanted but-"
"I didn't really want it you know," Nikola attempted to explain, "not for the reasons you think anyway, I just... I just wanted you to have the perfect Valentine's Day, like you deserve."
"Well that's sweet Nikola," Helen told him, "but I don't need fancy restaurants and the Eiffel tower and the Louvre to have a perfect Valentine's Day. Just simply spending the day with someone you love and having them beside you at the end of it, whats more perfect than that?"
"Nothing," he answered truthfully before shivering in the cold.
"Here," Helen said offering him his jacket, "I took it off to put your arm in a sling-"
She stopped speaking when the Valentine's card he had written to her fell out of his pocket, he felt his eyes widening in horror as Helen gave him a curious look and tilted her head to one said before reaching for the card, he would have tried to snatch it away from her first has his arm not been in a sling and the other not clutching the jacket.
"Helen don't-" he moaned feeling his face flushing with embarrassment and he suddenly wished the ground would swallow him whole but she ignored his plea and opened the card anyway, he could only turn his head away preparing himself for the mocking ridicule from his bad poetry skills and quickly clutched the star sapphire necklace in his hand lest she search his pockets.
"Wow, Nikola," Helen whispered after a minute and Nikola hadn't the guts to look up, "this is-"
"Stupid? Pathetic? Idiotic? Foolish? The worst thing you've ever read?" he guessed before she could finish her sentence.
"It's beautiful," she told him and his head snapped instantly to her face looking confused, "I had no idea you felt this way about me, I never thought you were really serious about any of the things you said."
"Of course I was," he told her seriously refusing to meet her eyes, "I love you Helen, with all my heart since the first moment I saw you and I know that's irrational but it's true and I have never stopped loving you. That's why I wanted you to have the perfect Valentine's Day, so I can prove that I'm good enough for you."
Deciding that now was as good a time as any he sighed and shakily moved his hand over to hers, placing the necklace in the palm of her hand where she could see the beautiful stone he had saved for her for more than a century. She gazed at it open mouthed for a minute and he wondered if she'd forgotten it, until she spoke.
"The star sapphire necklace," she announced not taking her eyes off it, "from Oxford all those years ago."
"Yes," he confirmed, genuinely impressed she had remembered it after all this time.
"You bought this for me in the 1800s and you're only giving it to me now?" Helen wondered raising an eyebrow.
"It never felt like the right time," he shrugged nervously.
"How did you afford it?" she asked bemused, "it cost a fortune."
"I took a secret job and saved up my money to buy it for you," he answered seeing no reason to lie and his usual charm seemed to be failing him anyway, he could barely breath he was so nervous, "you were worth it but by the time I bought it you and John... so I just kept it all this time."
"I had no idea," Helen told him clutching the necklace tightly and he met her gaze for the first time.
He was mesmerized by the incredible beauty in her eyes, like the sapphire their were stars in her eyes and he suddenly had the overwhelming desire to kiss her. He gently pressed his lips against hers, half expecting her to angrily shove him away but she didn't, she kissed him back with a surprising amount of passion. He just lost himself in the moment for a minute, scarcely daring to believe his dreams had come true, half thinking he was hallucinating from his head injury. He pulled away before she did just to check she was real, she gently caressed his cheek and couldn't help but smile.
"I can't promise you that we'll always be happy or that we won't fight or that I won't end up doing something stupid," he said seriously, "but I can promise that I will always love you Helen, semper."
"I love you, Nikola," she whispered and he thought his heart would stop with the shock, "I have for a while... I just never thought you could be serious but I'm willing to give you a shot, te amo. Semper."
His whole face lit up and he wrapped his arms around her as best he could before planting another kiss on her lips, he just closed his eyes and let the world melt away. It was worth waiting for, she was worth waiting for. It may not have been the Valentine's Day he had originally planned but it was the best one he had ever had, even though it had ended a few hours ago. He had spent the day with the woman he loved and nothing was more precious than that.
So there ya go part 3
Kind of a "Next Tuesday" ending there but having them leave be rescued or leave would ruin the moment but they got out of there alive for the record
Also note Star Sapphires are real, search for it on google images, they really are beautiful
And also "Te Amo" means "I love you" in Latin and "Semper" means "Always"