To the Rescue

Sam had barely stepped out of the Gate when she was told that there had been some kind of accident involving her mother. Her heart stopped. Her blood went cold in her veins and she began to shiver. No one could tell her what kind of accident or what Helen's status was, only that her sister had requested she come home immediately. Sam spent five minutes alone with Janet and then went right to the airfield where someone from the Sanctuary had a plane waiting. She was still wearing her desert BDUs. A hundred different scenarios ran through Sam's mind during that flight and none of them were good. Helen's work was just as perilous as her own, Sam knew that, and sure she worried about Helen getting hurt but she never felt the kind of fear she was feeling now because her mother was immortal for god's sake! They all tended to forget that immortal didn't mean invulnerable.

She had called to let them know she was on her way so when the plane landed Big Guy was waiting for her. He didn't tell her much, only that Helen was missing. Ashley and Will filled in the rest when she arrived at the Sanctuary. Adam Worth was still alive. He'd hidden away, with help, in the very outreaches of Hallow Earth and built a machine that would open a fissure in time. The reason they knew this was because the help he'd gotten had come from John Druitt. When Worth double crossed Druitt, picking a different year then he'd first promised, Druitt had come to warn Helen. They went off together to stop Worth, and even though they managed to save Praxis, Worth still managed to open the fissure and walk through. Helen ran after him.

"You're telling me she's lost in 1898?" Sam asked, as she looked at her mother's people. They were all gathered in Helen's office, including Nikola and John.

"I wouldn't say lost." Nikola corrected. "We know where and when she is, 1898 London. She's more like stranded."

"We need to get her back." Ashley said firmly. "We can't leave her back there."

While the others debated the possibilities Sam stepped away and turned her back on them to block them out. Helen would know her presence and foreknowledge could damage the timeline and she would do whatever it took to avoid that. Sam saw two options. Helen could sacrifice herself there by taking her present self out of the past, or she could hide away somewhere for a hundred odd years. So Sam and Ashley either lost their mother all together or they lost the woman she was, because no one would come back after an extra few lifetimes the same person. When Sam turned back to the others she took them all by surprise. For some it was their first glimpse of Colonel Carter and for others it was their first glimpse of just how much a Magnus Sam was.

"Nikola, Henry, we're going to recreate Worth's machine." Sam told the men. "We'll work off whatever Nikola's already started." Nikola would have asked how Sam knew he'd started on something already but to be quite honest she was a little scary at the moment. "Ashley, you and I are going after Mom. We can't leave her stranded in the past, not if we want the same Helen Magnus who went after Worth."

"Do you really think you can do it Sammie?" Ashley asked. "Find a way to rescue Mom?"

"Nikola and I built a devise to help that ungrateful sorry son of bitch." Sam replied as she pointed to John. "And I have, well, experience in this kind of thing. We can do this."

"And what gives you the right to march in here and take control?" John asked.

"My birthright." Sam answered in a firm, cold, commanding voice. For the others she explained, "Druitt and Nikola have to much knowledge about what becomes the future, and neither of them are very honorable or trustworthy, so there's no way in hell they get to go. Will, Kate and Henry are needed here for the Sanctuary. That leaves Ashley and me. Oh, and the most important reason, she's our mother." She gave them all a look that reminded them of Magnus and all but John nodded agreement to her plan. He was still hell bent on going back to change things so he could be with Helen the way he felt they were meant to be.

Sam had turned in her P90, sidearm, and Zat but she still had her field knife. She advanced on John, who again tried to argue with her taking control of the situation, before anyone could stop her, not that anyone would have tried. Even John was taken off guard as the tip of the knife pressed into his throat. "You're wasting our time. She's in this mess because of you, because you let Worth con you into thinking you could go back and set things your way, marry her, raise children together, happy ever after. You better hope this works. If anything happens to her I'm holding you responsible."

John simply smiled. "And yet Helen keeps insisting Ashley's violent streak comes from me."

With Nikola and Henry's knowledge of Praxian technology and Sam's knowledge of Ancient and Asgardian technology they were able to create a devise that would replicate Worth's machine. It would allow them to follow their mother to 1898 London and then bring her back to the here and now. Hopefully.

"Ready?" Sam asked her sister as they stood in Helen's office once again with the others.

Ashley nodded. "Lets go get Mom."

Sam nodded over at Nikola who walked over and handed her a round pocket sized devise. "That will get you back but you can only use it one. This thing is eating up a lot of energy."

"Man I hope it doesn't blow up." Henry said worriedly.

Nikola rolled his eyes. "Good luck."

Walking back over to the machine Nikola started it up. The house rumbled and the lights flickered. The machine began to hum and the room began feeling warm and stuffy. Just when the shaking got so bad it was boarding on damaging there was a flash of golden light and there was the fissure. Sam and Ashley looked at each other and nodded, and then they walked into the unknown.

They tumbled out onto the rain soaked streets of London. It was raining, the air was cool and damp, the sky was grim but it wasn't yet night. The clatter of horse hooves and carriage wheels on cobblestone was soon joined by whispers and frightened words. Sam got to her feet and looked around, taking it all in with wide eyes. It worked. They were, hopefully, in London circa 1898. Ashley got to her feet and instantly started getting her bearings. Yes everything was different, but these were still the same London streets she'd spent her childhood roaming with her Uncle James. Once she was sure she knew where they were she grabbed her sister's arm. "This way."

"Anywhere but here is good." Sam said as she let Ashley pull her along. Their entrance had garnered some attention, and they needed to get away from that attention as soon as possible.

Now that they were actually here they needed a plan. They couldn't risk going right to the Sanctuary, they didn't know how close or far from their mother's arrival they'd arrived. They didn't even know if Helen would have gone to the Sanctuary. Doing so would have put her at risk of running into her younger self. Nikola told them that he kept a flat in London and that in 1898 he was out of the country so they could use his place if they needed to, so that's where they went.

"Ok, we're here." Ashley said as she watched the street from Nikola's window. "Now what?"

"We need to blend in." Sam replied as she searched Nikola's place for anything that could be helpful.

"Which means we need to look like we belong here." Ashley nodded. "Leave that to me."

Sam turned to face her sister as Ashley headed for the door. "Ashley."

"Don't worry Sammie." Ashley flashed her a smile. "I'll be careful."

Other then the return devise they hadn't brought anything with them from their time, other then the clothes on their backs. With the bits and pieces Nikola had laying around Sam was able to cobble together two very crude stun guns. They would be enough to hopefully get them out of a jam quickly, but wouldn't be at all helpful in any kind of prolonged fight. Unless they could get their hands on some kind of real weapon if they came across any trouble they'd have to rely on hand to hand. As she worked Sam thought about what to do. They would have to at least check out the Sanctuary to see if their mom was there. It might help if they could get a bit of local news. They seemed to have created a bit of an uproar when they appeared, people would be talking if it had happened before, hopefully recently. Since Helen was here for Adam Worth, finding him might be a lead. Sam blew out a shaky breath. What was this, her third time going back in time? Fourth? It was scary that she even had a count on time traveling. It was even scarier because that whole trip back to Egypt had apparently gone wrong according to the video they'd left saying not to go back to Egypt as long as everything had finally been returned to normal. Sam still wasn't sure what Jack's lake suddenly having fish meant since apparently in wasn't suppose to have fish at all.

When Ashley finally returned she had several suitcases with her, and a trunk. Sam helped her bring them inside with wide questioning eyes. "Where did you get these?"

"Train station." Ashley said with a grin.

"You stole them?" Sam asked with an almost comical look. "Ash!"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures." Ashley replied as she started opening the cases and riffling through them.

"And the trunk?" Sam asked. "How did you…"

Sharpe blue eyes looked up at Sam as Ashley said, "Sam, we need to find Mom. To do that we need to blend in, right? A few missing cases isn't going to throw the whole timeline into chaos."

"It might." Sam huffed.

Ashley sighed, shook her head, and threw a dark green dress at Sam. "Put that on." Riffling through the trunk she pulled out a long blonde wig and threw that at her sister as well. "That too. Your hair is way to short for this era."

They had to help each other dress. The dresses weren't as bad as they'd thought they'd be. There where no hoops or deadly contraptions to assemble. They did have to tie each other into corsets however.

"Remind me to thank Mom for waiting to have me after the invention of lace bras and bikini briefs." Ashley grunted as Sam tied the laces of her corset.

The skirts were long, gathered at the waist, and there were skirts under skirts to make them fuller but they weren't ballooned out in any manner. Sam didn't mind the way the almost a-line cut of the skirt made her hips and ass look, and the tight bodice and corset did do wonders for her chest. While Ashley bitched about the undergarments and corset Sam moaned and groaned about the wig. "I look like Shirley Temple."

Ashley laughed as she took her sister in. "You look like a girl!"

"I am a girl!" Sam huffed. "And by the way so do you."

Ashley looked down at herself and crinkled her nose. "I know." Then she looked up and laughed again. "Mom's gonna get a kick out of this."

"We have to find her first." Sam said as she put a cloak on over her dress, one with a hood. Ashley had pinned the hell out of the wig to keep it on but just to play it safe she wanted a hood to hide in.

"Any ideas where to start?" Ashley asked.

"There's really only one place we can start." Sam replied.

Ashley nodded. "The Sanctuary."

They made their way across town to their mother's childhood home. Ashley had helped herself to Nikola's stash of money just in case, promising Sam she'd pay him back once they got home. She used a few bits to buy a newspaper figuring that if something like a woman being dumped on the streets out of a flash light happened already it might be in there somewhere, but it wasn't. She didn't realize that the Magnus name carried weight and would be protected, so any odd behavior from Gregory Magnus' daughter would be ignored and swept away.

Sam gave her sister one of the crude stunners and they each hide one in the pocket of their cloaks. It was dark out by the time they got to the Sanctuary and they were two women out alone, Sam just wanted to be cautious. They stood across the street, out of sight and watched the house carefully. Ashley was amazed that it looked just as she knew it, a grand old house that held unimaginable secrets. Sam was captivated. This was where her mother had come from, where she'd grown up, where Doctor Helen Magnus had first began taking shape.

The sound of a carriage drew Sam out of her thoughts. She and Ashley moved back, making sure they couldn't be seen and making sure they didn't cast shadows in the light coming from the gas fueled street lamps. They watched as the carriage stopped in front of the house and two figures climbed out. The first was a man. He had dark hair, a close shaven beard, and he wore a long dark coat and hat to protect against the wet. His smile was warm, and even though they couldn't seen the color of his eyes from where they stood they could see their warmth was bright and clear as he held out his hand to help the woman out of the carriage.

"Uncle James." Ashley whispered with a soft gasp of pain. She had loved him like the father figure he had been all her life. She missed him and seeing him again hurt more than she'd expected it to.

Sam reached for her sister's gloved had and squeezed it sympathetically.

Both women watched with rapt attention as the woman stepped out of the carriage. Her hair was a darker shade of blonde than their own; it was natural and unhighlighted unlike theirs. Her hair was long but pinned up in tight curls, not a single strand or lock loose or long. She wore a beautiful dress of deep blue and a matching cape to ward off the chilly night air. As the carriage pulled away she turned towards the street and they saw her face and Sam gasped. "She looks so young."

Tilting her head to the side Ashley looked at their mother, or the technicality younger version of their mother, at this point Helen would have been almost forty but still looked just as she had the day she'd injected herself with the source blood. "Other than her hair she looks pretty much the same. She'd have used the source blood by now. Her aging would have already slowed down."

Sam shook her head. "No, not the same at all. Don't you see it?"

"See what?" Ashley asked as she looked at her sister.

"She looks, I don't know, softer." Sam said as they watched the pair head inside. Given what she was going through with Druitt Sam wasn't sure if innocent was the right word, softer seemed right, so did vulnerable. This Helen Magnus hadn't lived through what their mother had, not yet at least. She had no doubt that this Helen was a strong woman, she knew she was, but it was a little unsettling not to see the kind of strength she was use to seeing when she looked at her mother. This Helen was still over a hundred years away from being her mother, Sam reminded herself, and if they wanted that woman back they needed to find her quickly.

"Do you think Mom's in there?" Ashley asked.

"Well if she is she isn't sitting in the parlor waiting to ask how their evening went." Sam replied.

Ashley sighed. "This is getting us nowhere. Lets just ask Uncle James if he's seen her."

Just as Ashley was about to walk towards the street Sam caught her arm and stopped her. "We can't just knock on the door and ask James Watson if he's seen a different version of his closest friend."

"Why not?" Ashley asked in a huff.

Sam raised an eyebrow as she replied, "Do you really think the world's greatest detective couldn't take one look at us and see her?"

That made Ashley sighed. "Good point." Ashley looked up at the house and bit her lip as she thought about what to do next. "We can't ask Uncle James but maybe we can ask someone else."

"Who?" Sam asked.

Ashley smiled. Her mother and sister were primarily book smart, but Ashley was street smart. While Helen looked for answers in her lab or the library, Ashley looked for answers out in the streets with her informants. Walking over to her sister she hooked their arms together and started leading Sam away from the Sanctuary. "There is always someone willing to talk for the right price."

They were able to get confirmation that their mother was here from a group of street kids. They told Sam and Ashley that a woman with dark hair, a woman the man called Watson had called Doctor Magnus when he'd sent them with a message for her, had paid them to follow a short man to a flat. They gave the kids a few extra coins for showing them the building they'd led the woman too. It was obvious the place had been completely cleaned out. It made sense. Any trace of the Adam Worth from their time would need to be completely wiped out. So if Worth had been here and their mother had cleared the place out, where would she be now?

"You're accent isn't half bad." Ashley said as she and Sam walked down a back alley.

"Better than yours." Sam said with a laugh. "And you're the one who's spent your whole life with Mom, you've even spent time here, and your accent is rubbish!"

"Well let's hope they're both good enough to fool James.' Ashley replied as they emerged onto the street proper. "Because we know they were working together which means he knows who she is."

It was nearly dawn so they headed back to Nikola's. "We'll wait until we know he's alone." Sam said. Something must have happened for Helen to let James know who she was and why she was there. She really hoped she was ok. The knot in her stomach was so tight it was painful. Just how badly did Worth screw things up? What did Helen have to do to set them right?

The next morning after watching the younger Helen Magnus leave with a medical bag in hand Sam and Ashley walked up to the house and rang the doorbell. A butler greeted them and Sam told him they wanted to see Watson. They were shown to a parlor to wait while he went to get him. There were crates in the entry hall and Ashley explained that at this time Gregory would have been in Africa sending things back as he came across them. Then she laughed and commented on how amazed Helen would be to know she actually listened when she droned on about things like that.

While they waited Sam looked around and tried to picture what it might have been like for her mother growing up here. She tried to imagine some of the stories their grandfather had told them about a young girl lurking behind corners trying to listen in on adult conversations, the young teenager who tried so hard to play hostess when he had company, and the little girl who sat on her mother's lap as she was read a story or sang a song.

"Ladies," James said as he walked into the room. "Do forgive me for keeping you waiting. I am Doctor James Watson, how may I be of assistance?"

"We're looking for someone." Sam said with a warm smile. "And we're hoping you'll tell us where we can find her."

"Oh?" James replied with an inquisitive look. "Who is it you are looking for? You sound as if you believe I might already know the answers you seek."

"Lets just say she's a friend of ours." Ashley told him. "And we know you've been with her recently."

Now there was a bit of suspicion coloring James' expression. "Oh? Who might that be?"

"Helen Magnus." Sam said firmly. "Or more to the point the darker version of her."

James had been moving across the room subtly but Ashley had been watching him and knew what he was doing. "There's no need to go for the hidden pistol."

"Pistol?" James replied. "I was going to offer you both a drink."

Ashley rolled her eyes and walked over to pull the pistol from where it was hidden. She held it up and then set it on the table.

"How did you?" James was gobsmacked.

"Doctor Watson," Sam said as she moved towards him and Ashley. "James. We're not a threat to Helen."

"We're here to help her get home." Ashley told him.

"You're a fairly good detective, yes?" Sam said with a sweet smile that looked so much like one of Helen's. "Look at us, look at our faces, and you'll see we're no threat. We just want to take her home."

James moved closer to the two young women and did just as Sam said. He looked them over with his keen eyes which then went wide. Sam smiled a little more when she saw it dawn on him. He relaxed and let out a concerned sigh, masking it as a soft guffaw. "I was worried about her you know. What you said before, that she was a darker version of the Helen I know, I feared it held more truth than just the color of her hair. I see now that is not so. There is light in her after all." He smiled at them and said, "She's gone to Somerset, but we must hurry, she has plans to leave the country."

"James?" A voice called out from the other side of the closed parlor door.

Sam and Ashley tensed upon hearing it. James held his hand up to reassure them and then rushed for the door, stepping out of the room before Helen could come in. "Helen darling, I thought you were off to over see Mrs. Redgrave's birth?"

"Another false alarm I'm afraid." Helen said softly. "Do we have guests?"

"No, I was looking for the copy of that book I was reading last week." James replied. "I've been called away and was hoping to take it with me."

"Called away?" Helen asked. "Again and so soon?"

James smiled. "It's just a bit of follow up, darling. I'll return by morning."

Helen hummed softly. "I believe you left that book downstairs. I'd like to check on Jack. I'll bring it up to you."

"Thank you my dear." James said sweetly.

Even her voice was softer, Sam marveled. "She even sounds different."

Ashley nodded. "Ok, that I noticed."

James called for a carriage and snuck the two young women out the back. After collecting the book from his Helen he joined them. It was a long, awkward ride to the seaside. James was full of questions he could not ask. What conversation they did have, was guarded as to not let anything slip. On the upside Sam was finally meeting and getting to know her mother's dearest friend, and even in the confinements they found themselves in she could understand why Helen had repeatedly wished Sam had had the chance to know him. Ashley was savoring every extra moment with her uncle, finding him kind of amusing. He was a bit stuffier then the man she'd known.

"What a life we shall lead." James said with awe as he looked at the two young women seated across from him. "So much to ponder and think about. For instance," He looked at them and then at Sam. "You are the older one, yes? And yet…"

"James." Sam warned.

"Yes, yes, quite right, my apologies, Ms. Magnus." James replied. Sam insisted they not give him their first names but since he'd figured out their connection to Helen he'd been calling them by the family name. Ms for Sam because he'd noticed her wedding band, and Miss for Ashley because she wasn't wearing one. Every time he used it Sam smiled despite the little pinch of guilt she felt. No one had called her Magnus by name, she was still a Carter and always would be, but it was kind of nice hearing herself addressed that way.

She watched from behind the curtains as the carriage pulled up. Helen frowned. James wasn't due back until he'd gather everything she would need to leave for her self imposed exile. So what the bloody hell was he doing here? She moved away from the window and was heading downstairs to the door before seeing who had followed James out of the carriage. By the time she'd reached the bottom of the stairs James was already opening the front door and walking in. "James? What are you doing here? What's happened?"

"This version of you really is quite easily excitable." James teased. "Are you always so ready for the worse to happen?"

"Yes." Helen replied a bit harshly.

"Crap. She sounds grumpy."

Snort. "Wouldn't you be?"

Helen's eyes went wide and her heart stopped at the sound of those two familiar voices. She watched in shock, astonishment, and a little horror as James stepped aside to allow her daughters to walk in. It took a moment; she nearly didn't recognize them dressed as proper Victorian ladies. Ashley's hair was pinned up and she wore a gray and white dress, fingerless gloves, and a very nice pair of boots. Sam's hair was, not Sam's hair, but it was long and pulled back, but loose. Golden curls spilled over the shoulders of her dark green bodice of her dress. The skirt was dark green plaid, no gloves but the was a ruffle to the end of the sleeves, and again amazing boots.

Then the shock wore off. "What the bloody hell are the two of you doing here?!"

"Gee, nice to see you too." Ashley replied with a playful huff.

"They claim to have a way of getting you home." James told her.

Helen blinked. "That's impossible."

"I think I'm a little hurt." Sam said with a pout.

"Ms. Magnus was very insistent that they have a way." James said.

Helen's eyes went wide again. "Ms. Magnus?"

Sam waved. She could tell her mother was about to have a mini meltdown so she quickly said, "We were very careful not to disturb anything while we looked for you. The only reason we went to James at all is because we knew you'd been with him already."

"I must say, I am looking forward to seeing how our lives play out Helen." James said with a bright smile. "You've all given me such hope for so many wonderful things."

There was a little pang of pain in Helen's heart. "James."

"Yes, I know." James said softly as he walked over to Helen and took her hands in his own. "It is time for me to be on my way. I suppose this is farewell then my dear Helen."

She leaned in and kissed his cheek. "I'm afraid so old friend. One way or another you won't see me again."

"Then I leave you in good hands." James replied. He turned towards Sam and Ashley and smiled. "Until we meet again ladies."

There was that pang again. He'd never get to meet Sam. Once they were alone Helen turned to her daughters, still in utter shock and awe that they were there. "Samantha. Explain. Now."

"We recreated Worth's machine, kind of, ours is better." Sam said.

"Ours?" Helen demanded.

"Nikola, Henry and I." Sam replied.

"Can you yell at us at home please?" Ashley asked. "I can't breath in this getup."

Sam pulled the device Nikola had handed her out of where she'd hidden in it her dress. "Ready when you are."

"Mom" Ashley looked at Helen with some concern. "Are you ok?"

It took a moment for Helen to wrap her head about this. She had been preparing herself for living alone for the next hundred years or so. She hadn't even fantasized about the possibility of going home. Now here she stood staring at her daughters who acted as if they'd just flown a plane or driven a car to pick her up. "Do either of you know the kind of risk you've taken?!"

"Yeah, Mom, we do." Ashley said firmly. "We weren't going to leave you trapped here."

"We don't know if either of you have the longevity gene!" Helen replied. "I'll live long enough to eventually return home! You wouldn't have even noticed I was gone!"

"We know." Sam said softly. "But as selfish as it sounds we wanted you back, not you with an extra one hundred and thirteen years."

"And we did notice." Ashley pointed out. "That's why we're here."

Helen stalked up to her daughters and for a moment it seemed she might actually strike them, but the fear she'd felt when she saw them, the fear that they'd cursed themselves to the same fate she faced, faded and she hugged them instead. Then she pulled back and fussed with the bodice of her dress and smoothed out her skirt. "Samantha. Take us home."

Sam had tensed up when Helen came forward but relaxed into her mother's hug. Now she smiled as she activated the device. "This might take a moment. Hopefully Nikola hasn't fall asleep at the controls."

The building shook bad enough for things to fall off shelves and walls. The lights flickered, dimming and going out and then flashing back on a little to brightly. Nikola did his best to keep the machine from going up in flames while they waited. Sparks flew as bulbs burst overhead, smoke came from Helen's computer monitors.

"Why is it so much worse this time?" Henry asked, trying not to sound to panicky.

"Because the opening isn't originating here." Nikola answered.

They all watched and waited, flinching and sidestepping when something broke or fell or shattered. Finally there was the burst of light and three figures went tumbling to the ground with soft groans.

"Helen?" John called out as he went to help her up.

"I thought I said I never wanted to see you again." Helen hissed as she got to her feet.

"You don't ever mean that." John replied. "Are you alright?"

She looked right into his eyes as she said, "I meant every word."

The look in her eyes made him gasp. "It was you, that night in the alley, it was you."

"Who kicked your arse?" Helen replied. "Damn right it was."

He took a step back.

"Wow," Will said as he stood there taking them in. "Look at the three of you."

Henry chuckled nervously from the tension rolling off Helen. "You two look like, ya know, girls."

"We are girls!" Sam and Ashley huffed in unison.

Helen turned to Will and asked, "How long have I been gone?"

"Almost a week." Will answered.

Helen closed her eyes and sighed softly. A week, not a century. She wouldn't have to spend several more life times alone, always longing for home, always thinking about how much she missed her children, her friends, her life.

"Mom?" Sam said softly as she walked over to her in a swish of skirts to put her hand on Helen's shoulder.

"I'm alright love." Helen reassured.

Sam shook her head. "No, you're not, but that's ok. You're home now so you will be."

Helen opened her eyes and looked into Sam's and then Ashley's. "Yes, I will be." She gave them a reassuring smile before saying, "Now, if I want out of this dress I know the two of you do, but first I want a picture. Then once we're more comfortable we are having a nice long chat about you two taking foolish risks!"

"Oh crap." Ashley moaned.

Sam smirked. "Worth it."

"Yeah." Ashley again. "But still, aww crap."