A/N: Bad day. Bad week. And it's only Tuesday. We've come to the end of this fic and I hope everyone who read it enjoyed it and major thanks and virtual cookies to all those who reviewed; it meant a lot. Thank you! Seriously.
It was warm. Rough stone scratched against her back. The air was stuffy, but breezy.
Helen opened her eyes and blinked. "Where...?"
She looked down at her hands and nearly dropped the green jar that was in them. Central America. The last thing she remembered clearly before it all went horribly wrong. "You!" Helen gasped, catching sight of the swirling mist a foot away from her. It drifted intelligently, as if waiting for her to put the pieces together.
"Did you show me that? Was that the future?" Helen lifted the jar in her hands. "Was that what would happen if I opened this?" Her eyes widened as her mind rapidly worked. "Is this what wiped out the Mayan civilization?"
Slowly placing the jar back in the alcove where she found it, Helen's mind connected the dots. Somehow, she didn't know how yet, opening that jar caused the end of the world - and she would be the one responsible. That horrible, nightmarish world; Helen had caused it, caused all of it.
"Is it safe here?" The mist 'stared' at her and Helen decided it was time to go home. "Thank you."
The vision of that alternate world had shown Helen more than just what would happen in her quest for mortality; it had opened her eyes to a few truths.
And now Helen couldn't wait to go home.
"I felt like I had nothing to live for..."
It wasn't true. Helen still had much to live for.
***
Henry's jubilant 'hey, doc!' greeted Helen with one foot through the door. This young man, who had been with her for more than ten years, electronic tablet in hand, brought a shaky smile to Helen's face. "How was the trip?" He bounced on his feet a little.
"A bust," she said faintly, discreetly surveying his face. Helen was happy to have him alive.
"Aw, that's too bad. But hey, souvenirs?" Henry's face was hopeful and Helen couldn't help but smile fondly.
"I'm sorry, Henry. I didn't have time. But," an odd, warm feeling began to fill her, "you know those upgrades that you keep bugging me about? I've decided we should get them. You can fill out those order forms."
Henry looked ecstatic. "Really? Seriously? Oh man! This is awesome!" He pointed at her. "You sure?" At her nod, Henry let out a whoop and ran off excitedly, calling over his shoulder, "You rock, doc! I'm totally on it!"
Helen decided right there, that she much preferred that happy smile lighting up Henry's face than his deceased postmortem picture; half transformed into a werewolf, pallid, and undernourished.
Her office was warm and rich. The sunlight shone happy rays through the window, pouring over her books and desk and Helen breathed in. The warm feeling growing stronger. Placing her backpack onto a chair, Helen ran a fond hand over her desk. She was home. The people she loved and cared about were alive, warm, and happy. The loneliness crowding her heart receded at the knowledge that there were still people around Helen that she cared about.
"Welcome back!" Will's cheery voice prompted her to turn around, almost taken aback by his warm demeanor. "Nice coat. Did you pick that up in Honduras?"
The lingering image of a hostile, unkempt, and bitter Will superimposed onto the young man in front of her. "No. I-it's one of my own."
Will nodded, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "So, how was the safari?"
This is how it should be, Helen thought as they bantered.
"You're utterly pissed that you struck out, aren't you?" Will teased.
"'Adventure is worthwhile in itself,'" Helen quoted, smiling faintly. She took off her jacket. "Amelia Earhart. A wonderful friend. And I still remember it today. I remember a lot of great words from those I knew; they've helped me tremendously in rough spots." She stood up and moved toward the door, patting Will on the shoulder. "I remembered another just when you walked in." She paused in the doorway. "'Hope is the thing with feathers – that perches in the soul – and sings the tune without words – and never stops at all.'"
Will raised an eyebrow at his mentor's mysterious mood, knowing he was missing something. "Who said that?"
Helen gave a Mona Lisa smile. "Emily Dickinson. She was a wonderful friend, for all that we never met." She walked out, hoping that those words would be yet another lesson taught that Will would take away. Hope never leaves and hope never dies. Even in the darkest of times.
Strolling down the carpeted corridors of her Sanctuary, in all ways, Helen trailed her fingers over the walls, over the tables, the chairs, even the paintings she passed by daily and now took for granted. Never again. The rich tones of the paneled wood, the plush carpet underneath her shoes – everything was warm and vivid and the loneliness receded just a bit more.
Helen entered her bedroom and a sense of home was immediate. Washing over her. I'm here, I'm home, and there's still so much left for me to do. The loneliness only wins if you allow it to.
A quick shower that scrubbed off more than just the dirt on Helen's skin left her feeling cleansed, inside and out. A quiet sense of new purpose filled her. Hands brushed against the clothes in her wardrobe; Helen's fingers unconsciously fingering a deep lilac cling dress that Ashley had given her as a birthday present a few years ago. Her daughter was gone. A large part of her heart went with her, but there were still others around her that burrowed their way inside, holding Helen up. Others like...
-
...and Tesla," Kate whistled lowly. "When he arrived at Sanctuary to see if it was true, the guy just shut-down. Locked himself in your room and came out three weeks later, issuing orders."
-
Now clothed in the dress her daughter bought her, Helen brushed out her hair as she sat on her bed. And wondered what that Nikola had done for three weeks, cloistered in her room. Had he lain on her bed, encased in sadness and regret? Loneliness? Buried his face in her pillow? Stared at coveted pictures of friends lost? Well, maybe not the one with Albert. Helen paused. And he better not have gone through her drawer of delicates...
A knock sounded at the door and Helen's composure nearly slipped as she answered it. She'd killed this former patient of hers. His eyes that had been rabid, now looked at her with clarity and peace. Before Henry. Before Ashley. This abnormal who liked to scare children had shown he was her friend in the only way he knew how.
"You have a guest," Bigfoot announced, disgruntled. "He refuses to leave until he talks to you."
Helen smiled even as her stomach flip-flopped. "Judging by the look on your face, I know who." There were very few people that raised Bigfoot's 'hackles' and with the lack of blood anywhere on his body, it had to be a friendly. "You didn't leave him alone in my office, did you?" With the controls to the Sanctuary virtually at his fingertips.
Bigfoot huffed. "In the garden." A tiny grin lifted his lips. "I wouldn't let him in."
Hiding her own grin, Helen patted his large arm. "Thank you." She watched him shuffle off. Another member of her small family.
Making her way out to the garden, Helen's footsteps were light and content. Her experience in Honduras had truly frightened her and made her face up to a few truths. The sun shone brightly down onto her face, the smell of the tall hedges and flowers bordering the stone walkway warmed her.
Turning the corner, Nikola Tesla in his finest stood with his back to her, standing tall against the sun with one hand in a pant pocket. The sight of him warmed her even more.
Here was a man who sought solace in the one place she cherished above all others. Her Sanctuary. Amongst her scattered things, vainly seeking some, any comfort to his hollowed self. Her death left him lonely. Her sudden appearance gave him the courage to kiss her, repeat his sincere love, and then, ultimately die for her.
Helen touched her lips as if she could still feel the tingling. He had kissed her three times, each with a different emotion, all with that same split-second of warmth. Helen's lips curved into a small smile underneath her fingers.
Nikola had noticed her presence and spun around to spread his arms out to greet her, smiling cockily. His eyes appreciatively taking in her dress.
Helen surprised herself by checking the impulse to hug him. Instead, as she sat down on a nearby bench, Helen patted the seat next to her in invitation. Nikola sat close enough that their sides brushed and it was an odd feeling; to feel that hint of trepidation and uncertainty when it came to Nikola.
There was nothing like living through a deathly experience in a hopeless situation to gain perspective. And to see what was right in front of you.
Helen spent a minute just looking at him, really looking. The sharp angles of his face, the color of his hair (was it as soft as it looked?), the shape of his lips, his eyes that hid so much from the world.
A moment of silence passed where Nikola's smirk faded and he began fidgeting under her stare. "What?" he snapped. Her unreadable face made him uneasy.
His vitriolic response warmed Helen. It wasn't until she was in a situation where she lost Nikola, that Helen realized just how much she would miss him. How much he meant to her. And Helen suddenly smiled affectionately. "Nothing." Just for once, happy to see you. Helen felt that rush of contentment like she had when she had seen Will, Henry, and the others. "What brings you here?"
Nikola eyed her suspiciously before relaxing and launching into his tale. "Yours truly has rendered the Cabal impotent. Technologically, anyway. They still possess expendable henchmen with less than stellar intelligence and copious amounts of money, again not as much as us...so I will safely say that they won't be causing trouble any time soon. I rather enjoyed destroying them," he mused. "Of course, when I take over the world, as king, my first order will be their complete obliteration."
His hand was limp by his side and she'd never really noticed how long and lithe his fingers were. Without thinking, Helen slowly grasped Nikola's hand, holding it between her own two hands.
"Thank you," she said quietly. Helen could tell how off-balance Nikola was by her gesture and it made her smile even more. Affectionately squeezing his hand between her own, Helen let go. "For taking the time out of your selfish schedule to do this," she teased.
Clearing his throat after a silent moment, Nikola shrugged his shoulders. "Yes, well," Nikola's eyes kept straying to Helen's content face, "they were a thorn in my side as well. I've been wanting to get rid of them for years, Helen, and if you recall, I offered you a chance to help me do that in Rome. We could have easily taken them out then."
Rome.
-
"I love you." Nikola searched her eyes earnestly. "I know you didn't believe me, back then in Rome, but I was serious."
-
The contentedness faded and Helen once more found herself gazing thoughtfully at Nikola.
"Well, I should be off." Nikola dusted off his pants and stood. Helen's behavior and silent actions confused him and he didn't know what to make of it. Confusion where Helen Magnus was concerned was never a good thing in Nikola's eyes.
"Going so soon?" Helen winced. Did that sound as needy and panicked as she thought it did?
"I do have a world to ensla- conquer, Helen. Don't worry, I have just the perfect position for you." He grinned sexily at her. "And there's the revival of my great race; I have one or two plans in motion, which I won't tell you about since you'll just scold me and not punish me in the way I would like you to." Nikola ticked off his fingers and then looked at her. "Why? Have you missed me, Helen? You have, haven't you?" His sexy grin became cocky.
Nikola's eyes sparkled with life down her, and Helen loved seeing it. Nikola, alive, well, and his mischievous self.
Helen stood up, swallowing. "I-I know it's not the Met, but the local art museum has some wonderful pieces. An exhibit from New York is actually on loan here for the next few weeks." Helen glanced at Nikola and then away. "Perhaps you would like to join me? We could have dinner afterwards."
Nikola smirked. "Is this a date, Helen?" His voice teased her, but his eyes were questioning. Helen's decidedly-odd behavior was making him off-balance.
Helen hesitated, dipping her eyes to the grass. This was it. The first major change in her life, so why did she, a woman who never backed down from anything, feel so nervous?
Helen found she couldn't answer that, deciding instead to clasp her hands together and smile. "Are you coming or going?" Helen held her breath as Nikola subjected her to a piercing, calculating stare. Tonight, she would get her answers.
Nikola suddenly stepped away, briefly dismaying her before he executed a sharp bow and held out his arm. His face relaxed back into its usual playfulness. "It's a date."
Date? Helen's heart skipped. It was, wasn't it? Her smile widened just a fraction, hardly noticeable, but the sharpening of Nikola's eyes spoke of how well he knew her. And for the first time in her long life, Helen graciously accepted Nikola's arm.
Just as if he were courting her; the significance was not lost on either of them. The sun shined down on both of them as they left the garden; each a bundle of nerves.
The museum was surprisingly crowded, due to the showcasing exhibit. A pair of young children, both brown-haired, blue-eyed, broke away from their parents, giggling and nearly ran over Helen as they scampered up the marble stairs.
Nikola quickly wrapped an arm around Helen's waist, preventing her from falling. The children's parents hastily apologized before chasing after their children.
His slender arm felt like a steel band around her waist, holding her close. A solid warmth, a firm grasp, steadying her.
*
That voice sounded so familiar, but no one she knew would hold her so tenderly, so protectively.
*
With his touch, the loneliness vanished. And when Nikola pulled his arm away, for the second time, Helen checked her impulse to stay his arm. She settled for a thankful smile, quipped about being her hero, and moved onto the next exhibit.
The time passed as Nikola playfully flirted and Helen shot him down with quips and throughout it all, the closeness they once shared back before their lives led them apart re-established itself. It would be so easy to fall...
That ease continued as Helen coaxed Nikola to dinner at a favorite restaurant of hers. Helen couldn't contain her laughter, something so foreign nowadays in her life, at the waiter's confusion with Nikola's insistence on having wine only.
All in all, Helen snuck looks over at Nikola when he wasn't looking, it was a wonderful date. And why wouldn't it be? She adored Nikola; he held a large part of her heart – all of The Five did, but as Nikola smiled brilliantly at her, his eyes alive with light, his chuckles...Perhaps he held more than she thought. Helen was finally opening her eyes to Nikola Tesla.
And it was earth-shattering.
By the night's end, Nikola once more offered his arm as they stood to leave. At the exact moment they stepped out of the restaurant, the skies cracked open and it began to rain. Nikola gave an annoyed look at the sky and quickly looked around. "Helen, this way." Without thinking, he reached out and encircled her wrist, pulling her along as he ran into the park across the street.
The rain continued its heavy downpour, creating puddles that their shoes splashed in. Running down the wet pavement path, déjà vu washed over Helen as she paid no attention to anything but Nikola's hand wrapped securely around her wrist.
-
"We need to keep moving," he growled out. Grabbing Helen's wrist, Nikola tugged her fiercely down the alley, toward the Sanctuary.
He led the way, gun raised and firing madly...
-
The clicking of Helen's heels were barely heard over the pelting rain as they ran through the park to a wooden gazebo, the lamps surrounding it unlit and plunging the area in moonlit shadows. Nikola held her wrist, guiding her up the steps and into the covered gazebo. They were soaked.
Catching her breath, Helen wiped the water off her face and glanced out into the pouring rain. The heavy beat of the raindrops, the crashing sound of droplets exploding onto the ground, the cloudy gray sky; it was eerily similar to the vision she'd experienced.
But the emotions were different. Then, Helen was trapped in a hole of confusion, frustration, and abject loneliness, where everyone she knew was dying one after the other. Here, Helen was warm and full, on a 'date' with Nikola and she tingled with the hopeful blossoming of happiness.
A jacket carefully laid itself on her shoulders and Helen felt Nikola's hands resting momentarily on her shoulders. His scent mingled with the smell of rain and it shocked her how comforting the smell was.
"It would be remiss of me to leave a lady shivering with cold." Nikola watched Helen smile gratefully, but didn't look at him, clutching his jacket closer to her body before adding, "Despite the wet view of your lovely body." When no familiar rebuke came, Nikola narrowed his eyes. Stepping up quite close, close enough to breathe in Helen's faint perfume, he pulled the wet strands of her hair out from underneath his jacket; a move which should have had her moving away. "Helen..." Nikola murmured. "What's going on?"
He was so close that if Helen turned her head, their lips would have undoubtedly met. Helen forcedly suppressed a shiver. Not yet. She still needed to know. "What do you mean?"
"You've been acting...different. I've caught you staring at me quite a few times tonight. Not that," Nikola shrugged nonchalantly, "I begrudge you. I am rather dashing and charismatic. I dare say I may be the male version of Helen of Troy. But, there's something going on with you."
Breathing deep, Helen stepped away from Nikola and toward the gazebo railing. Anyone could clearly understand that it was not the rain that had her so captivated, but her thoughts.
"Have you ever experienced a...hallucination so real where everyone you cared and loved was either dead or dying? A world completely destroyed and you were the only one left?"
"No," Nikola replied succinctly. "I was too obsessed with reviving my race to do drugs when it was 'cool'.
"I'm not talking about drugs, Nikola." Helen brushed a piece of wet hair off her forehead, staring out into the rain.
"My answer is still no."
-
"I love you." Nikola searched her eyes earnestly. "I know you didn't believe me, back then in Rome, but I was serious." He smiled sadly, not a trace of his arrogant self. "I love you, Helen. Always have. More than you know."
-
The poignant words repeated over and again in her mind.
Helen's hands gripped the gazebo railing, ignoring the peeling paint and splash of raindrops on her skin. With trepidation, blue eyes stared out into the heavy falling rain, hearing it fall, that familiar rain smell; Helen swallowed. That horrid experience still had the power to shake her. Nikola's face flashed before her, the sad acceptance of how they were going to die, the desperate longing, the regretful loneliness.
Those same emotions were probably mirrored on her own face. In the moment of their impending death, there was no reason to hide anything anymore. Helen frowned out at the rain. She didn't want to feel that way again, and this, this was the first step. More like a leap of faith.
"You were serious, weren't you?" Her voice was barely a whisper, hardly heard over the thunderous rain. She mouthed the words that no other ordinary person could hear.
But Nikola Tesla, part-vampire or not, was never an ordinary man. And his ears heard her just fine. "Helen?"
Tension blossomed inside her, holding her lungs hostage as she struggled to breathe properly. Still, she continued to stare out into the rain. "You were serious." It was no longer a question, but a near-silent statement. "Rome."
Giving the wooden railing a final squeeze as if trying to seek strength, Helen spun around and unconsciously wrapped her arms around herself. "When you said you loved me...You were serious...Weren't you?" Helen asked softly, staring at him
Nikola's hair was plastered to his head with water-spots on his clothes from their run in the rain and Helen thought he had never looked so vulnerable. There was no life-or-death situation throwing them together or any devious plan that he masterminded and held all the cards; it was just a simple heartfelt question that trapped him. Helen stood patiently out-waiting him, for an answer and Nikola couldn't hide behind a flirtatious remark or arrogant crack.
Blue-gray eyes froze on hers, unreadable. Nikola's entire body stiffened at Helen's point-blank question. A moment of packed silence passed.
Clearing his throat, Nikola stepped back, breaking their locked eyes and struggling to get their dynamics back to a level he could control. Raising his hands as if trying to wave away the serious emotions roiling, to Helen it was a clear sign of how uncomfortable and uneasy he was with the conversation and she interrupted whatever he was going to say. She had to know. Helen had to believe that the other Nikola was telling the truth.
"If there was ever a time you wished for me to take you seriously Nikola, this is it." Helen's blue eyes gazed searchingly into his. Her breaths were so shallow, she may as well have been holding her breath.
Always before, Helen had dealt with Nikola's flirtatious remarks as nonsense, believing they were meant in teasing fun. Since his dubious confession in Rome, the notion that there was something behind his behavior lingered in her mind. In her hallucination, Nikola had confessed that he had meant it.
He was in love with her. Always had been.
The thought even now, moved like thick molasses, seeping into her brain. It was a slow process, a slow thought to wrap her mind around, but its effect was startling. It was as if a giant invisible hand had smacked Helen in the face, shouting that one simple fact: "Oi! The man in front of you loves you!"
How had Nikola gone over one-hundred years feeling this way? How had she not noticed?
And now that she had, what was she going to do about it? Helen held no delusions about being in love with Nikola, had no doubt that engaging in a relationship with him would drive her insane, but she did care for him, deeply; adored him, even when Nikola made her want to riddle his body with bullets.
Seeming to wrestle with himself, Nikola froze as Helen's words registered. If there was ever a time...To say what he wanted to say, to blurt out what he'd been feeling for so long without slipping it in there, without Helen wondering if he was joking or lying. If there was ever a time when plain, earnest honesty mattered...Helen forced this pivotal moment, and with fragility, was hoping Nikola would follow her lead. To not be alone anymore.
"Yes." Nikola's voice was quiet, low. Firm and steady.
The rain became background noise, incapable of affecting Helen and Nikola as they stood feet away from each other in the gazebo. And it was as if the rain had washed away their defenses, the thick shields they kept themselves wrapped in for over a hundred years.
The confession, the naked emotion only hardened Helen's resolve, but still she stumbled slightly, taking a step closer toward the watchful vampire. That vivid, horrific experience that lasted a mere day provided Helen with a clear moment of lucidity in her life. Her greatest fear was being alone, but she was alone by choice.
Her breaths ran faster.
"I don't know where this will lead us, but..." It would be so easy to fall in love with you. Perhaps...I'm already halfway there.
Nikola's eyes flashed and moved to say something, but any sound died as Helen cupped his cheeks and gently pressed her lips to his.
Warmth.
Shivers tingling underneath her skin.
The sound and feel of her heartbeat speeding up.
And Helen wondered if Nikola was feeling all the same wonderful, startling emotions she was.
Pulling back, stepping away, Helen slowly opened her eyes to see Nikola staring steadily back at her.
I see you, Nikola.
His blue-gray eyes pierced her.
"Ni - "
He shook his head slightly, ceasing any words falling from her mouth, even if it was simply his name. Nikola's eyes darted from her uncertain eyes to her parted lips. He closed the distance between them. Once more, his blue-gray eyes repeated the process before at last showing longing in his darkened pupils.
"One more," Nikola quietly said. Dipping his head, he sought her lips in a light, tentative kiss. He applied a gentle pressure, giving Helen ample chance to pull away in this new, hesitant situation, but Helen merely tilted her face upward, wanting more. He broke free a scant second later, and Nikola could hear her racing heartbeat's tempo matching his own. How miraculous was this?
"One more," Helen repeated. The shivers turned to warm tremors flowing all over, leaving her strangely breathless.
Nikola's lips stretched into the most brilliant smile; soft and earnest in its appearance. His hands slowly rose to grasp her shoulders; his grip secure and gentle and Nikola kissed Helen again. This time, neither seemed willing to break apart so quickly, wanting to feel the happy warmth rising within. Nikola's hands slid from Helen's shoulders to cup her face, holding her just right to feel those lips against his.
Everything about this was questionable, wavering in its uncertainty. But Nikola had always pushed the boundaries, believing he was never limited, always seeking more. A man who lived the credo of anything was possible. And so, his heart embraced this enthusiastically, wholeheartedly, lovingly.
Helen had always dared to believe in the impossible. She saw examples of the 'impossible' everyday; sought it out, really. And here she was, hands clutching Nikola's arms just as firmly as he held her face, willingly kissing him. Wasn't this impossible? Unnatural? Inconceivable?
The part of Helen's mind that was not awash with pleasant fuzziness affirmed that it was possible, that it was natural, and conceivable, and so Helen embraced it. Tentatively, gradually, and hopeful.
They broke apart, mere inches.
"One more..."
Helen's hands grasped Nikola's shirt tightly, stepping into his embrace.
I don't know where this is going to lead us, but, I want so badly to find out. Because I realize that I'm not alone, not as long as you're here, keeping me warm.
Fin.