Of Prophetic Dreams, Dull Sharp-ish Knives, and Un-recalled Names

As James tucked Helen into bed he made sure all the dials on his chest plate were working before he crawled into bed with his lovely wife.

He had known something was a bit off with his wife last month when they had hosted a dinner party for all their friends including a rakish wine hugging pilfering Nikola Tesla and an aging Nigel Griffin who spent most of the party lurking around invisible, spying on unaware guests just to get a laugh.

She hadn't touched a drop of liquor or even their most expensive delicious wine. She had claimed she was simply tired and in no mood to drink seeing as the last time she had drank copious amounts of alcohol she had had an one sided screaming match with James over an abnormal who he wanted to transfer to the London Sanctuary and that had died unexpectedly on the transfer to London.

After she had thrown everything breakable in her sitting room she had apologized for blaming him and then quickly collapsed, falling into a troubled deep sleep in his arms.

He hadn't the strength to carry her all the way to their bedroom, so he compromised the only way he knew how as laid her exhausted alcohol ridden body on her couch and sat in the chair by her desk until he fell asleep on a stack of papers.

She woke up with a blistering headache and an apologetic look in her eyes as she saw where her husband lay.

Helen gently woke him up, quickly getting him to agree to sit on the couch with her. Her comforting embrace and enchanting smile had them kissing like teenagers in less than five minutes and naked in less than ten. She hadn't touched a glass of wine since.

Now as he looked at her beautiful sleeping form he couldn't quite believe that she had chosen him over Nikola Tesla's charm and wit or John Druitt's poetry and passionate love for her. He knew John had broken her heart and that she had had almost no one who held her heart since. James figured she had had lovers, but had gotten so tired of them dying on her that she had finally given up.

She had not succumbed to James's love for her till the eve of her eighty-fifth birthday. She had kissed him and told him that she knew he had loved her since Oxford and that she had loved him since before the first Great War and that there was nothing now keeping them from being together. She had promised to give him her heart and soul and always love him.

They married five years later at the London Sanctuary under the stars. It was the happiest day of his life, not more so than now that he was going to be a father, but more so than when he had figured out he had the chance to spend eternity with his wife and the woman he loved with all his heart.

He held her now as close as his chest plate would allow him and fell asleep in her arms.

When he dreamt he dreamt of Helen, very pregnant and wearing a dress under her lab coat.

The dream suddenly changed to Helen in her private lab working on something of importance when John teleported in and held a knife to her throat. She tried not to squirm, knowing she could not hide the fact that was carrying James's child.

"So you bloody whore you finally betrayed me the only way you know how. Sleeping with my best friend, huh? Is that the only way you could receive revenge for what I did? Is that the only way you could find that would make me suffer the most? You knew I loved you damn you. I was willing to wait for you until my rage had subsided, but I knew you would never forgive me for my crimes so now you are here trapped in my arms about to have the child of my only friend."

"John please…don't hurt my child. It's innocent. Please…"

Tears poured down Helen's cheeks, clenching her teeth as a certain sharp agonizingly drawn out pain ripped relentlessly through her body.

"Oh yes I knew you were close to giving birth. So I decided to come and take away the one thing that holds you close to Doctor James Watson. You're child Helen I want your child. No one, not even the good doctor is here to save you. I want to take away something, someone you love so much it makes your heart want to burst."

"John you were, are a murderer. I don't care if it was a rage that tormented you and made you kill all those women. As soon as I found out about what you'd done to those poor helpless women I knew you were not the man I fell so deeply in love with. Do you know how many years it took me to fall in love with James? Twenty years John, that gave you plenty of time to come to your senses and come back to me, the woman you supposedly loved with all your being."

"Do not blame this on me. I may be what I am, but that does not change the fact that you only waited twenty years to bed my best friend when I would have waited eternity for you."

"Don't lie to yourself John. You knew you couldn't love me the way you used to or in the way I deserved. You knew I would never forgive you for all the things you had done. I do not need to be punished for not loving you anymore John."

Helen cried out as a contraction tore through her, which coincidently coincided with her water braking.

"You don't have much time my dear fiancé. It won't be long now and your child will be mine."

"You bastard you will not steal away my child. I will die before I allow you to do such a thing. And I am not your fiancé anymore. I married James Watson. I would have never married you"

"Oh would you now, care to test your theories?"

"If you still love me, grant me one last kiss before you kill me and my child. Something to remember me by, if you will."

"One kiss and then you are going to deliver this child into my hands and you will never see your baby or me again."

"That is all I ask for. Please John grant me this one last request."

"As the lady wishes." John turned her around poising the knife at her neck.

He leaned down to give her a final kiss not realizing the disadvantage he had now.

Helen commandeered the knife and as quick as she was able, stabbed him directly in the heart, killing him instantly.

Helen grabbed the nearest table for leverage, crying out as she felt the need to push.

She grabbed the gun that was always behind her favorite microscope and shot John in the head for good measure.

Footsteps could be heard as Helen's grip on the table loosened.

"Helen are you quite all right?"

"James thank God! I'm so sorry darling I couldn't help it, John was going to take our child. I had to kill him."

"Helen I understand. Did you spill water while you were doing your experiment?"

"Oh bloody Hell James you are such a daft man, my water broke! The baby is coming…now! If you desire to have your son or daughter in my lab then do please continue staring at me and trying to figure…out all…that happened. James…darling…I think I need to…push…"

"Here we're never going to make it to the infirmary in time. Quickly now lay down on the couch and I'll help you take off your dress and lab coat."

"Yes help me to the couch James, but I'm afraid we have enough time to take off my clothes."

Helen bore down in his arms, pushing though she willed her body to stop what it was doing.

James quickly laid her down on her couch and checked to see where she was at.

"James! Make it stop! Please!" Helen pushed with all her might as she screamed James's name while connecting his name to a list of profanities even he had never heard.

"You're doing wonderfully my dear. Now I can see the head, give me just two more good pushes and this will all be over, I promise."

"You've never even delivered a baby! You have no idea what you're doing! Oh God, James I want this baby out of me…NOW!"

"Push Helen, just listen to the sound of my voice and it'll all be over before you know it and you'll hold our child in your arms and everything will be right in the world again."

"I never want to do this again! This is ridiculous James!"

"I know but we agreed we'd have at least two and if I'm not mistaken you're only having one. Now push Helen, you're almost there. Yelling at me will not get you any closer to having this baby out of you."

"It helps you logical son of a…BITCH!" Helen did as she was told, her breaths coming in short bursts.

"One more Helen, you're almost there."

"Oh bloody Hell, stop being so calm and RATIONAL!"

She shot her husband a glare and screamed as she felt something slip away from her. Suddenly, just like 'that' (snaps fingers) the pain was almost instantly gone and she felt like herself again other than a twingy pain that she chose to ignore.

"Please tell me the baby is okay. James, please talk to me."

"Helen we have a boy. And he's just as loud as his mother."

"Oh thank god. Can I hold him?"

"Of course my dear; now for names, remind me what we agreed on if we had a son."

Before Helen could answer James, he was pulled from his dream world and back to the present with Helen's arm wrapped gently across his chest.

"James darling you were having quite a dream. Care to share why you were tossing and turning and telling me to push?"

"Helen we had a son and he was so beautiful. He had your eyes and my dark hair. He was perfect."

"What did we name him?"

"I don't know, I woke up before we decided. I've come to the conclusion that whatever we have be it a girl or a boy, I will love it with all my heart. Oh and we need to have Tesla over for dinner sometime, I have a project I'd like him to work on."

"Yes, I'll send him a message tomorrow; but for now James, sleep. From what I hear about babies you're going to need as much as you can get." Helen kissed him and turned over on her side, leaving him to stare at the back of her long brunette curls.

"I love you Helen Watson."

"I love you too James Watson, now go to sleep, I'll not have you cranky in the morning."

"As you wish darling."