Helen awoke, rolling on her side and found herself alone in bed. Puzzled she sat up to better examine the room and quickly spotted Nikola still sound asleep on the couch. Smiling to herself Helen slipped from the bed to dress herself and let Nikola continue to sleep for a little while longer.
Thirty minutes later Nikola awoke to the angelic sound of Helen saying his name, or well, part of his name.
"Niko," she said softly, "Niko it's time to wake up."
"Ola." He slurred partially into his pillow, partially towards the wall which he was facing.
Helen confused, sat down beside Nikola's back, alighting one arm on his own, and began to run her fingers through his already tussled hair. He liked this very much so he did not move in order to let it continue and to better suppress a sound he knew would sound similar to a purr should it escape his lips.
"What did you say?" Helen asked him.
He shifted his head, ever so slightly and repeated,
"Ola."
"Ola?"
"You forgot the ola in Nikola."
Helen laughed,
"Even half-awake you are still so cheeky."
Nikola smiled broadly but made no reply. She watched him smile and knew he was fully awake now, but did not acknowledge it. A long moment of silence passed in which Nikola kept his eyes closed to better enjoy the feel of Helen still running her fingers through his hair. Finally Helen said,
"Come on, you do not want to miss breakfast do you?"
"No I suppose not," Nikola sighed in response.
He rolled over, sitting up to get off the couch and go about getting dressed but Helen had yet to abandon her seat beside him and her hand that had previously been in his hair was now on the opposite side of his torso. She looked into his eyes which still hinted of sleep in an adorably boyish way. Helen grinned then said in a quiet tone,
"You did not have to sleep here you know."
"Really? Where else could I have slept? The decks get rather cold at night and I don't think your friend Andrews is interested in a bunkmate…"
"You know what I meant!" She laughed again slapping his arm lightly.
Nikola grinned at her and then bowed his head slightly replying,
"I did not wish to disturb you, you looked so peaceful."
"Well, for next time, I do not care."
He returned his gaze to hers, tempted for a second to lean forward and kiss the breath right out of her, but instead opted to say with a wink,
"So, are you going to get up and sit in the front room while I dress or are you volunteering to help?"
Before getting up and leaving and shutting the door behind her, Helen shook her head saying,
"You are completely incorrigible."
A short while later Nikola and Helen had just sat down to begin their breakfast when a tall, dark haired and elegantly dressed woman approached them.
"Excuse me," she said in a voice with a slightly southern accent, "Do you mind if I join you."
Nikola, ever the Victorian gentleman, rose graciously to his feet,
"Not at all," he pulled out a chair for her, "please sit."
"Thank you!" the woman smiled at him.
"Our pleasure," Helen smiled to her, "I'm Helen Magnus and this is my best friend, Nikola Tesla."
The woman turned to openly stare at Nikola who had resumed eating.
"Not the Nikola Tesla?" She asked of Helen without breaking her stare from Nikola.
"If by the Nikola Tesla, you mean…"
"The genius behind electricity and the AC current, that Tesla!" The woman finished Helen's sentence.
Nikola picked his head up and stopped eating. He smiled broadly at the woman,
"May I ask who it is that is actually aware of my extraordinary accomplishments?"
"My name is Molly Brown, Mr. Tesla."
"Well, Mrs. Brown, thank you. I am glad that somebody is smart enough to know my inventions are extraordinary."
Helen rolled her eyes, swallowed her food and said to Molly,
"Oh no look what you have done, you've feed his ego. Good luck getting him to stop."
"Deary me. If I had known I would never have said anything." Molly smirked.
Thus a friendship was born. Nikola left Helen and Molly chatting away that morning and went off to occupy himself by drawing up a few designs for new inventions in a corner of the library.
This was how the next few days passed for Helen and Nikola. They would share breakfast with Molly or one of the other first class passengers. Once done they would go their separate ways until dinner. They always shared this meal together, alone. After which they always spent time together. They would pass the time seated on one of the decks, sipping wine while looking out over the ocean settled in silence that only comes with years of intimate friendship combined with a few occasional lines of conversation, until Nikola would excuse himself to go for his evening swim. He timed this perfectly so that by the time he would return to their cabin, Helen would be asleep in the bed and he could sleep on the couch.
On April 13th, however, something changed. Sometime in the late afternoon Nikola was seated on one of decks in a chair, peacefully reading a book. It was the sound of a pair of graceful footsteps and light toned voices that alerted him to their presence. Looking up from his book he was just in time to see Helen and Molly pull up two chairs to sit beside each other opposite him.
"He's reading poetry, Whitman no less. How intriguing…" Molly commented.
"He's going through a free-verse phase at the moment, I'm sure it will pass." Helen replied.
Closing the book, with a finger marking the page he was on, Nikola looked up with feigned irritation,
"He is right here and I happen to like free-verse poetry."
"You do huh? So read us some."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Those that truly like poetry know how to read it just right," Molly explained, "so read some."
"If you insist," Nikola sighed, "Actually I think I know just the poem…"
Re-opening the book Nikola flipped forward in the book for a few pages and then stopped, looking to them.
"To A Stranger…"
Nikola cleared his throat a little and then read in low passion imbued tone
"Passing stranger! you do not know I have somewhere surely You grew up with me, You give me the pleasure of your eyes, I am not to speak to you, I am to think of you
How longingly I look upon you,
You must be he I was seeking,
Or she I was seeking
(It comes to me as a dream)
Lived a life of joy with you,
All is recall'd as we flit by each other,
Fluid, affectionate, chaste, matured,
Were a boy with me or a girl with me,
I ate with you and slept with you, your body has become
not yours only nor left my body mine only,
face, flesh as we pass,
You take of my beard, breast, hands,
in return,
when I sit alone or wake at night, alone
I am to wait, I do not doubt I am to meet you again
I am to see to it that I do not lose you
As he reached the last stanza Nikola lifted his gaze to meet Helen's and recited it by heart. Then, once he was done, a silence wafted over the trio broken only by the various sounds of the others on the ship preparing for their evening activities.
"Well," Molly broke the silence, "I guess you do like free-verse after all."
"It would seem so…" Helen murmured, her heart thumping.
A man suddenly appeared to Helens left.
"Pardon me," he said then looked to Molly, "I have a telegram for you."
Molly took it, thanking him and then read it quickly.
"Oh you'll have to excuse me," she said rising to her feet, "I must send my husband a reply."
She bade them farewell and then bustled off. Helen and Nikola said goodbye to her and then returned to staring at the other. Nikola shut the book on his lap and leaned forward to Helen,
"What do you say we try that A La Carte Restaurant tonight?"
Helen leaned forward as well, smiled and replied,
"Sounds like an excellent idea to me…"
"Splendid! I will make the reservations for about seven, then swing by and get you at six fiftyish?"
Helen laughed,
"We share a room Nikola, I think leaving together is basically unavoidable."
"Oh we do?" Nikola put a shocked face on, "I had no idea."
Helen shook her head laughing, getting to her feet.
"Six fiftyish it is then."
Nikola watched her go, grinning because he had a date with Helen.
It turned out to be a quite a pleasant evening. Nikola met Helen at their room at precisely six fifty and Nikola thought Helen looked simply radiant in the deep red evening dress she had changed into, and told her so. She blushed and thanked him before taking his arm and allowing him to lead her to the restaurant where they shared a very pleasant meal. Once the meal was done they found themselves strolling arm in arm by one of the decks railings. They had been chatting a little but then the conversation sloped off into that comfortable silence again. Neither had any idea what time it was but neither really cared, they were both enjoying just being together, away from all the stress of their normal lives. They passed a few other people also out for a stroll, but not many as the majority were inside in the ballroom for the evenings party the music for which was wafting gently to them and the twinkling stars above.
Eventually they could walk no more, for they had reached the end of the deck at the front of the ship. They simultaneously turned to face out towards the ocean Helen slipping her arm from Nikola's to lean on the railing, staring intently outward. Nikola, still standing shoulder to shoulder with her, crossed his arms and also looked out over the vast rippling expanse.
"I cannot believe this trip is almost half over," Helen muttered, "I'm not sure I want it to end so quickly."
"Me neither…" Nikola sighed.
Helen turned to look at him, a little surprised.
"Really? I thought you would be anxious to get back to work…" Helen said, teasing him a little.
"That may be true," he smiled at her, "but I cannot remember the last time I was able to spend time with you peacefully just being ourselves and enjoying the perfect company."
"I can," Helen answered quietly.
Nikola turned his head to look at Helen who was staring even harder at the horizon. There was a silent pause then Helen said,
"It was right before I made that damned Serum."
"Helen…"
"No Nikola," Helen snapped, "It's true. After we all took it everything between the Five," she turned her gaze at last to face him, "and between us," she turned her gaze back to the horizon, "it ruined everything."
"I don't see it that way at all, and neither should you."
Helen made a huffing sound and Nikola reached out, taking her shoulders and turning her to face him. Sliding his hands down her arms to take her hands in his own, he said to her in a low, sincere tone,
"You cannot blame yourself for anything that happened; it was not of your doing."
Both knew of what he spoke, but said nothing more of it. Helen only nodded meekly and then Nikola added,
"And as far as we are concerned, to me I think that it was the best thing that could happen."
Helen picked her eyes up to look into his, her confusion evident. Nikola only smiled at her,
"Who could be better than me to get you out the trouble you're bound get into over the next couple centuries?"
The sparkle returned to Helen's eyes as she laughed and replied,
"Funny, I was just thinking the same thing about you!"
As she squeezed his hands and continued smiling at him with her lips and her eyes Nikola again had the urge to lean forward and just kiss her senseless but again managed resisted the urge.
"Come now," he said with a wink, "It's getting very late and from what I know, you humans need your sleep."
They then turned from where they had been standing and began strolling back to their cabin.
"This coming from the vampire who sleeps so late that we nearly miss breakfast every day. I'm starting think you might actually be allergic to the sunlight…" Helen teased.
"You could always slip some garlic in my food to check…or better yet! Just throw some holy water on me! That would be much quicker and more efficient." Nikola replied.
Nikola had said this in such a serious tone that Helen could not help but burst out laughing at him. She then added,
"I could always check the engine room for a stake to drive through your heart!"
A rumbling chuckle rose from Nikola's chest and wafted pleasantly to Helen's ears. She had not heard him laugh in a very long time and grinned wider at the sound of it. The sound died away and Nikola sighed in a light hearted tone,
"It's a shame I didn't bring my coffin, I bet it would have been much more comfortable than that blasted couch…"
"Well perhaps you will find the bed more to your liking," Helen smiled as she opened the door to their cabin.
"Perhaps."
That night was the first, and only night, Nikola shared the bed with Helen. He slid in, and scooted over to the far side of the bed, laying on his back starting up at the canopy above. Helen climbed in a second later and curled up with her back to Nikola, though not very far away from him. Closing her eyes, she drifted off to sleep a blissful smile still on her lips and a warmth in her heart she had never known. Nikola listened as Helen's breathing evened out into the breathes of the dreaming. Only then did he close his own eyes and begin to let sleep claim him, a grin still on his lips.
A/N: I want to blame the banter about vampire myths on my amazing teacher for Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature/Film studies Mr. Joe Geddes who is currently showing my class the 1931 Dracula movie. Hope you enjoyed Chapter 4! Thanks to all those who have reviewed so far! They are much appreciated! If you feel inspired or have the time, review s are much loved!! =]