I um . . . I know that it's an evil way to end this fic, but if I try to make a plot out of it, it'll just crash and burn.

He wasn't anywhere to be found after that argument that they had, until Helen finally heard movement.

"Nikola?" she whispered as she walked into the bathroom, to the sight of Nikola on the floor leaning against the wall, a layer of sweat on his face. "Dear lord."

"I suppose that I may have been wrong about being 'fine'." He admitted.

If this somehow didn't convince Helen that he wasn't 'fine', the fact that he just admitted to being wrong would have been enough.

She took a washcloth off of the shelf and put it beneath the faucet to wet it, and then knelt down next to Nikola, gently dabbing his face and neck.

"Helen, I –"

"Shh, no, it's alright." She soothed.

His words slurred together as he replied "No . . . no it's not."

"Nikola, it doesn't matter right now." Helen softly pressed the back of her hand to his forehead "We should get you to bed."

"We?" Nikola smirked.

"Well you are obviously not able to stand by yourself." She rolled her eyes "How long have you been this ill?"

"Last night." He muttered.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She saw a speck of guilt in his eyes. The shame of the vulnerable moment and the thankfulness that it was with Helen Magnus.


Nikola found himself covered up with blankets in a soft bed, the warmth of a crackling fire lightly beating on his skin, clammy, but chills still managed to rack his body, teeth chattering. But none of the sanctuary's guest bedrooms had a fireplace. As he tried to sit up, nausea threatened him, so Nikola decided that it would be fine just to stay lying down. His throat felt raw from the coughing and vomiting, making him very aware that the bad memories he had couldn't have happened very long ago, so how long had he been in this room?

It was dark in the room, besides the fire, he realized, and the last time he remembered being awake (or as conscious as he was able to remain), the sun was setting. He remembered the relief of finally being able to close his eyes, asleep in Helen's embrace, and feeling comfort rush between them. She whispered soothing words in his ear as he fell asleep "Shh-It's alright, Nikola, just relax." as if he were a child; but he couldn't have been far from that level of vulnerability at that moment. By then, the fever had very much taken hold of him, and it left him just like that . . . a child.

Nikola pulled a blanket tightly to his shoulders, still shivering. He hadn't been this ill in . . . well . . . over a century. No virus could get to him. Not the invincible Nikola Tesla. The last time he remembered getting ill was right before the source blood injection.


The five had been in the lab, each working in their specific area of expertise to make sure that this project would be a success. All of their heads were turned when they heard a cough echo throughout the room. "Nikola?" Helen questioned "Are you . . . alright?" she looked to be the only one who actually seemed to be genuinely interested, but then again, the others were probably interested too, only, -by the smirks they were wearing- because of their amusement . . . not that there was anything to be interested in, because Nikola was sure that he wasn't ill. He couldn't be. He did NOT get ill.

"Perfect." The Serbian replied as he returned to his work, expecting everyone else to do the same, but he immediately stepped away when he felt Helen's hand against his forehead. No, he didn't mind her checking for a fever, but the rage that was building up in John's eyes was enough for him to pull away. How could one cough from Tesla be the sign of illness, you may ask? It wasn't, but Helen had noticed that he'd been a little off that day.


"He can take care of himself, Helen." James told her casually, not taking his eyes away from his work.

"I'm aware." she replied.

Nikola hadn't shown up that day at all, and they were beginning to get worried. Well, actually Helen was. The other three couldn't care less; in fact, they considered it a gift from God when Tesla didn't show up at the lab. Though he had a great mind, he was still as obnoxious as ever. But it wasn't like him to skip out, not like this.

When Watson realized the concern plastered plainly on her face, he told her "He'll be fine, love." but she only nodded and returned to her work.

As hours and hours went on, Tesla was still nowhere to be found, and as time passed, Helen set her mind to visiting him after she left the lab.

she walked towards his bedroom and knocked on his door "Nikola?" she called out softly. There was a muffled response and she decided to let herself in.

Tesla was found lying in bed on his back, drenched in sweat "Helen." He managed. Well, this explained his absence quite plainly.

"Dear god . . ." she muttered "This illness escalated in a day?" she asked. He just lay there, either not willing to speak or not able to.

All of a sudden John came in, frightening rage and insanity on his face. He approached Helen with anger -

No. Nikola didn't want to think about that. He just wanted to see her.

He desperately searched the room for someone - preferably Helen - so he could get some answers of some kind . . . like, how did he end up in Helen's bedroom? He could think of a billion answers to that question, all of which were probably just fantasies.

"Finally." He heard a gruff voice say from across the room. Nikola squinted at Bigfoot "what in god's name is going on?"

Bigfoot grunted in annoyance "This was the closest place we could get you to. I promised her that I would be here when you woke up." Ah, okay, well . . . that was a surprisingly dull explanation.

And then the memory hit him. The day before. Becoming mortal. God damn it. Bigfoot laughed at Nikola's sudden realization of what exactly was happening "she said that your body's sudden vulnerability is making you really sick."

"Where is Helen?"

"She's on a mission. Besides me, henry's the only one here."

Two days with a sasquatch and a werewolf . . .oops . . . HAP.

As much fun as that sounded . . . "I think that it's time for me to leave." no hesitation in his voice, whatsoever. He folded the blankets over, and brought his legs to the edge of the bed, only to see the room begin to spin,

"You're going to have to wait for two days, if you want to see Magnus."