Since things around the Sanctuary were generally pretty busy, John and Helen had decided that they would wait until some other time to take a honeymoon. They did, however, get a night to themselves at the estate; Ashley promised that she and Gregory could look after James until morning.

"Goodnight, darling," Helen whispered to her halfway-asleep son before handing him to Ashley so that the blonde could take him down the hall and put him to bed.

James made a little sound and closed his eyes, snuggling against his sister. Ashley smiled at their mother. "Night, Mom."

"Thank you for doing this."

"It's no problem. See you in the morning."

Helen sighed contentedly as she shut the door behind her daughter. "I've half a mind to ask you to pinch me," she told John, who was standing beside their dresser, undoing the buttons on his shirt.

He laughed. "Do you think that you're dreaming?"

"I'm afraid of it," she replied.

"Well, if you were simply dreaming, wouldn't you prefer not to know?"

"True," Helen agreed as she sat down at her dresser and began removing her jewelry and freeing her hair. "I wish that my father could stay here longer," she commented. "I feel like I'm forever saying goodbye to him."

"Perhaps he'll return once his current project with the London Sanctuary is complete?"

"Maybe…I think that I'll be hard pressed to keep him in one location for any stretch of time."

John smiled. Gregory DID like to wander. He'd been going from one project – and continent – to the next since he'd come back into his daughter's life. "Speak to him about it in the morning. Surely he wouldn't mind spending more time with his grandchildren."

"No, I'd imagine not," Helen agreed as she put down her hairbrush and turned around to face him. "I really don't like having Nikola in my house without knowing why he's here," she switched topics.

"Nor do I. However, I think he can be dealt with tomorrow. Tonight, we have other concerns."

She got up, a little grin on her face. "Oh, really? Like what?"

John stepped over and turned her around so that her back was to him. He gently slid one of the straps from her dress down over her shoulder and laid a kiss on the skin that he'd exposed. "Things like how quickly I can get you out of this gown and into our bed," he whispered to her.

Helen smiled. "Less talking, more undressing."

After James was put to bed and things were mostly cleaned up in the main library, Ashley slipped away to the roof. It had been a very busy day, and she had a lot to think about.

She wasn't quite sure whether she should be thinking of this day as an ending or a beginning – or maybe a little of both. There was some childish part of her that hoped this whole family thing would be the stuff of fairy tales, but she knew that was unlikely given the realities of their world. She couldn't really picture Helen making perfect family dinners or John playing t-ball with James. However, they'd all grown pretty comfortable with each other over the past few months, so she was kind of wondering how much 'making it official' would really change anything.

Recently, she'd been spending a lot of time thinking about an idea that she hadn't shared with anyone – not her mother, or Henry, or even Will who was sworn to secrecy by doctor-patient privilege. Ashley was intrigued by the notion that she should have been born nearly a hundred years before she actually was. She didn't really wish that her mother had allowed her to be born in the late 19th century, but she couldn't help but wonder what that life might have been like. What if her father hadn't been a serial killer and they'd all been a family together in England? What would she have done with her life? There likely wouldn't be such a large age gap between her and her brother. And maybe they'd have more siblings.

There were other possibilities to consider, too. What if her mother had decided decades earlier that the loneliness of her lifestyle was too much to bear? Ashley could have been a child of the 30s or 50s. What if Helen had waited even longer? It almost felt like she was a timetraveler.

"Is this a private party?" a voice broke into her thoughts. Ashley turned around to see that Tesla had also found his way up to the roof.

"Um, no," she replied, a little wary of the newcomer.

Nikola smiled has he leaned against the wall beside her. "Interesting day, hmm?"

"Yeah."

"Although I guess you've had a lot of interesting days in the past year or so, haven't you?" Ashley didn't respond. "I don't think I've ever heard you this quiet before," he told her with a laugh.

"I'm not sure if I remember who you are," she shot back. "I mean, I know your name and I know you've worked with my mother, but…"

"But what?"

"I don't know why everyone in the Sanctuary is watching you like a bomb that could go off at any moment."

Nikola laughed. "Your mother has always been paranoid."

Ashley didn't buy that. "Never without good reason."

"Really, why would she need to fear little old me?" And before Ashley could utter one syllable in response, he stuck a needle in her arm and quickly pressed the plunger. She tried to push him away, but quickly succumbed to unconsciousness.

Later that night, John and Helen laid in each other's arms and watched the stars through her open window. "If we could go anywhere tonight," he whispered to her, "Where would you want to go?"

"What?"

"Just for a night. If I could take you anyplace in the world…"

She smiled slightly. "You would have me home by morning?"

"Cross my heart," he promised.

"Mmm…Lake Tekapo."

"New Zealand?"

Helen nodded. "Beautiful mountains and forests. I was in the area for my work some years ago and always wanted to go back, but haven't had the opportunity. I'm sure we could find a quiet spot to watch the sunrise…"

"I believe it's nearly sunset by now down there," he pointed out.

Helen shot him a look of mock annoyance. "It's my fantasy; it can be any time I want it to be."

John simply nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Where were you thinking of going?"

"I was considering Venice."

She smiled. "Of course."

"Mmm, cliché, I know, but I have an image in my head of you lounging on a gondola as we sail down the canals."

"And it's daytime now in Italy."

"Even if it weren't," John impishly replied, "It's my fantasy."

Helen turned over to face him, and ran a gentle hand along his cheek. "I'm sorry, John."

"For what?"

"For the fact that we can only fantasize. I wish very much that we could go to New Zealand or Italy or both, but the risk is too great."

He slowly nodded. "I know."

They hadn't talked very much recently about him giving up his abilities, but Helen knew it was still something he struggled with. "I know this is hard for you," she promised, "But I'm so grateful that you've given us this chance at a future."

He'd be lying if he said that he didn't hate it every day, but there was no reason to make her feel worse. He was eternally thankful that she'd been able to put their horrific past behind them and give him another chance; he'd spend his life doing anything he could to repay the favor. "I'd do anything for you, my love," he whispered as he held her close.

In the morning, Helen woke up first and went to get James. The baby was already awake and sitting up in his crib, quietly waiting for her. "Thank you, darling, for letting your Mum and Dad sleep in a little bit," she told her son as she picked him up. "You're probably hungry, hmm? Let's go get your sister and make some breakfast for everyone."

When she went down the hall, she was surprised to find that Ashley's door was open and the room was empty. Her daughter had never been a morning person, so it was almost unheard of for her to be awake before Helen. "She's probably already in the kitchen," she told James before heading for the steps.

But she wasn't. Will was the only person downstairs, nursing a cup of coffee while reading through a file. "Have you seen Ashley?" Helen asked her protégé.

"No, I haven't. She's awake already?" he inquired, surprised.

"Apparently so; she's not in her room."

"Huh…Her bike was still in the garage when I went for a run this morning; she's gotta be here somewhere, right?"

"Hey, Doc," Henry said as he joined them, "Looks like our favorite houseguest decided not to stay the night."

She frowned. "Nikola's gone?"

"Yeah, I walked by his room on my way down here. He was nowhere to be seen and it doesn't look like he used the bed."

Helen felt a little cold. "Will, can you please give James his breakfast?" she asked as she handed him the baby.

"Sure, but what's going on?"

"I need you to check the security logs from last night," she told Henry. "I have a very bad feeling about this.".

TBC...

A/N: Nikola always has to make things interesting, right? As always, thanks for the feedback!