Chapter 8
Kate leaned over to Henry and said in his ear, "Distract Tesla!"
"Wwwhat?" Henry stammered, staring at her as if she had two heads and asked, "Why?"
"Too many questions, just do it!" the young woman barked. "I'll explain later, promise." She smiled at him innocently.
"Well, how am I supposed to distract him?"
"Do I have to teach you? Ask him about his work, for example, he can talk for hours about that. Now go!" Kate said angrily and pushed Henry in the direction of Nikola, who was standing near Helen.
Henry came up beside Nikola and cleared his throat. He looked anxiously towards Kate but she just nodded. Poor Henry took a deep breath and said thoughtfully, "H'm, I wonder how they managed to display in the colours of the performing country's flag on the outside walls of the hall?"
Nikola raised an eyebrow and turned to him, "That was the most stupid question, I've ever heard from you, Heinrich!"
Henry swallowed nervously, but continued, "No, I certainly understand that the point is in the design features of the building, but how exactly is still a mystery to me. What do you think, Will?" He turned to his friend, standing not far from them, but Will didn't even have time to open his mouth.
"Why do you ask him?" Nikola laughed, "He doesn't know how to screw in a light bulb."
Will shrugged indifferently and returned to watching the concert. Henry looked back at Nikola, waiting. Helen arched an eyebrow, fixing her gaze on Nikola as she too waited. Their silence was louder than the previously loud contestant and Nikola sighed. "Listen closely to me, Wolf Boy. I won't repeat myself…" Henry was about to say something, but Nikola raised his hand, calling him to silence, "No questions!" And then he began to explain. Watching him, Helen smiled. She had always suspected that her friend, in spite of his temper and caustic attitude, he really did care for the young tech.
Kate smiled as she watched, seeing her plan in action and turned to Helen, grabbing her hand and hauling her off into the dancing crowd.
Helen looked puzzled, "Kate, are you all right?" The loud music made it impossible to speak and Helen had to lean forward and yell into the other woman's ear.
Kate did the same and cried, "I just need to talk to you, but alone."
Helen smiled, "Then it isn't the best place you've chosen. There are thousands of people around us." But Kate didn't laugh at the joke.
"Magnus, tell me, what's going on between you and Tesla?"
"I think that's none of your business!" Helen replied a little coldly. "And secondly - nothing, we're just friends!"
"I agree, it's not my business, but friends? Doc, I'm not that naïve." Helen paused, and Kate was sure that her boss was going to fire her before running off but Kate wouldn't give up. "The sparks fly between you guys!"
Helen remained silent for a moment and the seconds ticked by. "It's complicated," she said suddenly.
"And love is never simple," Kate retorted, but she was sincere.
Helen shook her head and smiled sadly, "I know that, Kate. I was engaged to Jack the Ripper, after all."
"And that's why you are afraid to give Dracula a chance?" the young woman asked, but she caught Helen's eye. "Sorry, Tesla," she corrected herself. "You are afraid that he will turn into a monster?"
"Oh, no, I'm not afraid he'll become a monster! He's just not capable of it. Yes, he is selfish, arrogant, mostly hurtful and obsessed with his vampire heritage, but he isn't a monster." She spoke with such a confidence that it made Kate in victory. Helen again fell silent. And Kate has nothing but to wait, she could only suppose how hard it was for her boss to say that.
"The process of his transformation was the experience of my life, but if spite of the overwhelming bloodlust, that controlled him, he was ready to kill himself rather than hurt me! Does that sound like the Nikola you know?"
The young woman nodded with a smile, but asked, "Then, what's wrong?"
"Do you know what angels fear?" Helen asked a counter-question.
Kate just shook her head with a puzzled look. Helen continued, "There is a book, it's called 'What angels fear'. And the answer is so simple, they fear making a wrong move and having to live with that knowledge for all eternity." She fell silent for a moment. "I'm not an angel, but I don't want to suffer forever, knowing that he... he doesn't..." and her voice broke.
"That he doesn't love you," Kate concluded.
Helen ran her eyes around: the show still went on, noise, laughter, shouts around them. A little way away from them, she saw Nikola explaining something to Henry and, waving his arms about. Her heart throbbed with emotion and for a moment, her eyes moistened though she tried to blink it away. The strange conversation reminded her of conversations with Ashley, her daughter pleading with her to try dating. It always ended with them both lying about, laughing. What would her golden girl have said about Nikola? Would she have agreed with Kate? The questions helped mask her fear of making a decision on her own. Oh god, how desperately she missed her little girl….
"Doc," Kate touched her hand and caught Helen's attention, "he would follow you to hell, don't you see that? And it isn't because you're his best friend, but because you are the woman in his life and will always be! And the only woman he would let shoot him so many times," Kate added.
Helen laughed through her tears, "Actually, I agree with that."
"I'm not asking you to start an affair with him immediately, just take one small step towards him and then you'll see. He isn't my favourite guy but he doesn't deserve to live an eternity in waiting. After all, we women know how to get out of any situation..." the young woman smiled cheerfully and Helen suddenly thought that perhaps the girl, despite her age, was wiser and braver than she with her 157 years. Kate tried to catch sight of their men, "All right, let's finish with this girly chat, the voting is about to start. Just… think on what I've said." And she turned to go leave…
But Helen kept her hand, asking, "Who else knows about...?"
Kate smiled knowingly and replied, "Just me, men are so blind, even the born psychologist." She nodded in Will's direction.
"Thank you!" Helen said.
"Not at all, Doc! But I think it's time to save Henry, I'm afraid his set of silly questions is over, and Dracula looks as if he is ready to bury him alive."
Helen chuckled, and they hurried to help Henry, who was so obviously relieved to see Kate that he sighed happily. Nikola huffed like a kettle and turning to Helen, angrily said, "Helen, I am absolutely disappointed by your skills of selection of personnel, they don't understand the simplest things."
"But they know their areas well. So I suggest you give up the conversation to watch the voting."
"As you wish," Nikola said, "but you need to find a way to improve their professional skills, and then..."
"Nikola!" she warned him.
"By the way, where have you been?" he suddenly changed the subject.
"Oh, just women's talk," she smiled, taking his arm.
"And will you tell me?" he asked.
"No way!" she smiled, being captured by his smart and sparkling eyes for the hundredth time during the evening.
"Why?" he asked calmly.
"Because it's none of your business!"
"So you were talking about me!" His confidence was absolute that Helen paused for a moment. He grinned. "Gotcha!"
Helen quickly replied, "No, of course not!"
He leaned down and said, "It seems to me that you react too violently, my dear, so I'm right!"
She had no choice but to admit it with a sigh. "Yes, we're talking about you!"
His eyebrows rose and a smirk played on his lips that Helen had an unbearable desire to wipe off immediately. "Yes, Kate asked how long would you stay in the Sanctuary, and had you thought about moving?"
Nikola just snorted, "I hope you said that I was your favourite, and a welcome guest?"
"Of course!" And in response she received a warm smile, his eyes dancing. "And I also noted that if you wanted to stay him, you would stop tormenting my team and, in atonement of your rudeness you'd promised ..."
She was cut off by Nikola's indignant exclamation, "You wouldn't dare!"
Helen was ready to giggle, but she kept a straight face. "To clean of all the computers in Henry's office!"
"No, you didn't!" Nikola cried. She felt his hand tense under hers and she gasped inwardly. She had distracted him… She rolled her eyes, silent for the moment before giving him a small smile.
"I'm sorry to say I did."
"Helen, please say you're kidding!"
"Tesla, look, 10 points go to Serbia," Henry spoke to him.
Nikola gave him an angry look before turning back to Helen.
Henry gave Helen a puzzled look and then shrugged at Nikola. Tonight, it seemed everything was going over his head. First Kate and her strange request and now this…
Helen couldn't help laughing as Nikola fumed. It took a second for him to realize he had been fooled but when he did, he grabbed her by the arms and growled in her ear.
"I'll make you pay for this."
The sound of his voice always made Helen shudder, but this time it was allied with his embrace and it was completely intoxicating. She pulled back slightly and winked at him. "I'd like to see you try."
She had never before seen someone's jaw literally drop, let alone Nikola's but he was speechless. She smiled and released herself from his grip, still holding his arm as if nothing had happened.
"It seems to me, Sweden is winning," she said calmly.
Ehhh, we are closer and closer to the ending…
Anyway tell me what you do think, your reviews make me smile and mean really a lot to me!)
Thanks my dears for reading!)
