Nikola had wandered down to the wine cellar again before he decided to then make his way to Helen's office. He entered without bothering to knock though it hardly mattered since she wasn't even in the room. He grinned to himself and sat down in the chair behind the desk before putting his feet up on the expensive wood. He opened the bottle of wine and leaned back in the chair to start drinking while he waited for Helen to appear.

He sighed as he waited in boredom for Helen to finally return from her incredibly long (and probably dull) conference call. He rifled through the desk drawers to see if there was anything interesting but finding nothing to peak his interest except some very expensive chocolate (of which he did take a few pieces) he then turned his attention to the rest of the room. He glanced around absently before his eyes locked on the computer. Had anyone been around, they would have been very worried at the Cheshire grin that appeared on the man's face as he grabbed the keyboard and immediately started typing like a maniac.

In a mere half hour he had already managed to erase all of Helens music and replace it with nothing but Broadway show tunes and Death Metal, change all her passwords to really weird Latin phrases, changed her background so it now showed a picture of a very pale Will at the beach wearing nothing but a Speedo and changed her screensaver so it showed dancing Chippendales dancers.

He didn't have to wait long after that for the familiar voice of his favorite human to pierce the air followed swiftly by the voice of her protégé as they made their way to the office. He smirked as he turned off the computer monitor and put the keyboard back on the desk just as the door opened and the conversation stopped as they stared at him.

"Feet off the desk Nikola." Helen said primly as she approached. Nikola rolled his eyes but pulled his feet off the desk anyway.

"Buzz kill." Nikola said as he stood up and grabbed his wine bottle to drain it of the remaining liquid. "Well, my work here is done." He clapped his hands together once before cheerfully leaving the empty wine bottle on the desk as he walked past the pair without another word. They stared at him as though he was crazy before turning back to their work. Once out of sight he ran down the hall as quickly as possible giggling maniacally all the way, because Helen would definitely try to kill him once she found out what he had done to her computer. And he wasn't disappointed when he heard the familiar sound of his name being screeched out by a furious Helen Magnus.


Helen managed to find the troublesome vampire several hours later in Henry's lab of all places sitting next to the young HAP as they played World of Warcraft.

"I didn't know you played World of Warcraft." Henry said and the vampire just rolled his eyes.

"I don't work all the time you know."

"I just didn't think you were the gamer type."

"Honestly pup, one would think after all this time knowing me you would have realized that I love playing games." Nikola said with a mischievous grin on his face. "Wouldn't you agree Helen?" He asked without looking up, though Henry jumped up immediately and started stuttering out excuses for not working. Nikola pulled him back down to the couch and just looked at Helen as if to say 'What?'.

"Henry, my computer is having a few problems so if you don't mind taking some time to see if you can fix it I would most appreciate it." She said and Henry jumped up and rushed off to fix the problem, leaving the pair of immortals alone in the lab. Nikola just stretched out almost cat like (and yes, he was well aware of the irony of said action) on the surprisingly comfortable couch and waited for Helen to start yelling or lecturing him as usual.

"What are you doing here Nikola?" She asked getting straight to the point.

Nikola sighed inwardly before turning his attention to the woman in front of him. Nothing was ever simple with Helen, not that he actually expected it to be, that would be asking for too much.

"I can't stop by for a visit?" He asked innocently.

"Nikola, you always have a reason for being here. You never just stop by for a visit." She snapped at him causing him to flinch slightly at the tone. "So what is it this time?"

"I…" He stopped before saying anything further and thought about what he wanted to say. What could he say that she would actually believe? That he was tired of constantly travelling and moving around and wanted to find somewhere to settle down? That he was lonely and wanted to spend some time with a friend? She would never believe the truth, she would think it little more then some scheme to try and get something he needed from the Sanctuary or she would consider it part of some plot to try and sleep with her. And while the second idea definitely had its merits, he really only did want to spend a decent amount of time with his best friend. At least right now that was his intention. It had been years since they really sat down and just enjoyed being in each other's company. But she would never believe him if he said that, as she barely trusted him at all these days but it was his own fault as he had played his role too well.

'I suppose it's my own fault for playing a crazy vampire intent on reviving his race.' Nikola thought before he spoke aloud.

"I was merely stopping by to fetch something I left last time I was here." He lied smoothly and stood up while brushing out any wrinkles in his suit. "I suppose I have worn out my welcome yet again, so if you'll give me a moment to grab my coat I will be more then happy to get out of your hair." He said in a soft disheartened tone before grabbing his coat and pulling it on while heading for the door. Helen stopped him before he could go any further.

"Nikola…forgive me, I have had quite a stressful day and despite what you did to my computer, I don't mean to take out my frustrations on you. You know that you are always welcome in my house."

"I apologize if I upset you but you know how I get when I am bored and there is nothing to occupy my mind." He said softly. "But perhaps it is best if I leave."

"You don't have to go." She said as she looked at Nikola. He seemed almost saddened but for what reason she couldn't tell. Maybe it would do him good to stay for a while. Plus, she would never admit it, but she missed his company. "Besides, I would never put you out on such a dreadfully stormy night like this."

"You have before." He pointed out sadly.

She remembered that night in question as vividly as though it had happened mere moments ago. It was the night Nikola had come to her house and begged her to stay away from John. He said John was dangerous and that he had threatened to kill the vampire and he worried for her safety because he said John had gone completely mad. She had been so angry that he would say such things about her fiancé, she hadn't been willing to listen to what she thought at the time were nothing more than jealous lies from someone who had always desired her and she had promptly thrown him out of her house on a night not unlike this one.

"And for that I am truly sorry. I should have listened to you my friend. You were right about him."

"At least you finally admit it." He said with a half smile. "Better late than never."

"Stay Nikola. At least for a while."

"If you want me to stay, who am I to refuse?" He said causing her to smile.

"On one condition." She said.

"That would be?" He asked curiously as he tilted his head in a bird like manner.

"You give me the passwords to my computer."

"Fair enough." He said once he debated whether or not he should. Giving up the passwords would be worth seeing her reaction to her new desktop photo or her new music playlist. He really needed to stop antagonizing the woman who keeps guns on her at all times, but it was just too darn fun to see her reactions to his games.

'I have got to stop hanging out with Loki and Coyote.' Nikola thought to himself. 'They really are becoming a bad influence on me.'

"I have a staff meeting in a few minutes, you know where everything is so make yourself at home but please try not to cause too much trouble." Helen said playfully causing him to roll his eyes.

"I do not cause trouble, it just follows me around like a crazed stalker." He said simply before stretching out on the couch yet again. Helen shook her head fondly before heading up to her office for the meeting.


Nikola had started tossing a bright pink and green bouncy ball he had found in his pocket against the wall a short while after Helen had left the room. Why he had a bouncy ball in his pocket he didn't know, he hadn't even realized it was in there to begin with, although he did find a yo-yo, slinky and a half solved Rubik cube as well. He grabbed the ball and placed it back in his pocket before standing up and stretching. He started for the door while fiddling with the Rubik cube and then down the corridor so he could head up to Helens office.

He walked straight into the office without noticing everyone look at him as he flopped down on the couch. He was biting his lip as he focused all of his attention on the cube in his hands.

"Bored Nikola?" Helen asked and he looked up at her from his spot on the couch as though surprised to see her and the others in the room.

"How did you guess?" He asked wryly before going back to the troublesome toy in his hands completely ignoring how everyone was watching him.

"When did he get here?" Will asked.

"About four hours ago Dr. Deluded." Nikola said cheerfully causing Kate and Henry to snicker at the new nickname.

"And what the hell is he doing here this time?"

"You are aware that he is in the room and he can hear you?" Nikola said frowning at the cube again. "You stupid evil cube of evilishness." Nikola muttered as he shook the innocent looking cube that was actually pure undiluted evil in a bright shiny square package. He huffed and tossed the demonic creation on the table with a pout.

"I'm bored." Nikola half whined causing everyone to stare at him half in terror. Dealing with Nikola when he isn't bored is bad enough but no one really wanted to see or deal with him when he was truly bored.

"I'm sure I can find something for you to do if you want Nikola." Helen said slowly.

He thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. "I'm not that bored."

An idea popped into his head and he immediately stood up and left the office though not before giving Helen the passwords as he promised. He left in such a rush that it left everyone to wonder where the hell he was headed and if they should be concerned or simply run for cover. He grinned as he sauntered down the hall and heard Helen squawk as she obviously saw her new background. When a mere moment later he heard three more yelps of horror he couldn't help but start laughing loudly.

'Definitely too much time around Loki.' He thought as he made his way to the kitchens. He suddenly felt much less depressed then he was several hours ago.

'I guess being somewhere you actually enjoy being can help ones mood tremendously when depressed.' Nikola thought to himself as he made his way into the kitchen with a happy smile and a very rare urge to bake.