Helen wasn't supposed to be up and about yet, but she wasn't going to let that stop her. She planned to be back in her office by the end of the day, but for now, her main concern was her son. James had been set up on another bed in the infirmary; she carefully made her way over to him on weakened legs and sat with him.
"Hi, luv. You're probably just as ready as I am to get out of here, hmm?" James just smiled and cuddled his stuffed dog closer. "Did your sister bring that for you?" He nodded. "She takes very good care of you, doesn't she?"
"Where Daddy?" James asked.
Helen forced a smile. "You'll see him later. I'm sure he'll come by to visit you." Whatever was going on between the two of them, she knew that John would never take it out on their son.
"Mama sad?" James wondered.
"No, darling, I'm okay. You should get some more rest."
"Story?"
"What story do you want to hear?"
"G'night Moon." Helen practically had the book memorized by now; it was one of James' favorites. She could recite the entire thing with only a couple mistakes – which her son was quick to point out. By the time she'd gotten to the last line, his eyes were closed and his breathing had evened out into that of sleep. Helen gently brushed his hair back and pulled the blanket over him. Every day, he looked more and more like his father, a realization that she found she was glad of.
"There are lots of very complicated things about our family that I don't want you to have to worry about for many years," she whispered to him. "Maybe part of me was still angry with your Daddy. I love the life that we have, but… looking at you and your sister reminds me of how different things could have been. The life we could have had… the dreams that I lost. But I think I do have to let that go. Because he's right; there's nothing we can do to change it. And I can't let our past cost us our future."
The door opened, and Ethan came into the infirmary. He stopped short when he saw that she was out of bed, but didn't comment. "Hello, Dr. Magnus. How are you feeling?"
"Much better, thank you."
"You'll likely feel even better with some more rest – " he started, but she shook her head.
"I'm fine."
Ethan smiled to himself as he sat at the computer in the corner. "I guess it's true that doctors always make the worst patients."
"Indeed," Helen agreed.
They remained in silence for a few minutes, with Ethan updating files and Helen watching her son sleep. She finally spoke up. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you."
"Mmm?"
"How did you stumble into this world?" Ethan slowly turned around in his chair. "You're human, and neither of your parents have any connection to the Sanctuary Network. I assume your interest in medicine came from your father, but Caleb never told me how you ended up on the Sydney Sanctuary's doorstep."
"Yeah, I think my dad had decided that I was going to be the next doctor in the family by the time I'd learned to walk. Never saw him happier than the day I got accepted to the University of Melbourne's medical school. I wanted to be a surgeon, just like him. And then one summer, on a trip to the beach, I came across something I'd never seen before. A creature, washed up on the sand, tangled in a fisherman's net."
"Chelonia Regiorum," Helen realized. "I remember; five of them washed up in New South Wales four years ago."
He nodded. "The police said it was just a sea turtle, but I knew they were lying. Didn't look like any sea turtle I could find in an encyclopedia. I kept looking for more information, even as everyone kept telling me to give it up. And eventually, I got far more than I'd bargained for."
"You could have stopped there."
Ethan shook his head. "No, I couldn't. This world is so much bigger and more fantastic than I'd ever considered. How could I walk away from that?"
Helen smiled. "I believe we've all asked ourselves that question. Thank you." It was good to know that there would always be others to carry on the mission she and her father had started.
He nodded. "I should probably go check in on a few patients. I know you won't do it, but I feel obligated to tell you that you really ought to get some more rest."
"I'll consider it."
Ashley looked up from the suitcase that she was packing when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. John was standing there. "When are you leaving?" he asked.
"We'll see how things go around here tonight; make sure that Mom is back in action."
He nodded. "Speaking of, have you talked to your mother?"
Ashley shook her head. "Not recently."
"Do you think that you should?"
"Yeah, probably."
John smiled as he sat on his daughter's bed. "I think that should be 'definitely'."
Ashley sighed. "She knows I'm going back."
"I don't think your last conversation is how you want to leave things."
"I don't want to have to talk about our last conversation."
"Why?"
"I keep telling myself that she didn't really mean it, but… I guess I'm afraid that she did. That she does sometimes think of me as a mistake that she has to always watch out for."
"Ashley, you know that's not true."
"Really?"
"The simple fact that you exist is proof that your mother could never think of you as a mistake, proof of how very much she wanted you in her life."
"I doubt I've ended up anything like what she'd hoped for."
John chuckled. "No, Ashley, you're more. More than either of us could have imagined."
She looked away. "I think I'd rather keep wondering than find out that you're wrong."
He sighed. He knew that both of the Magnus women could be immovably stubborn when they wanted to be. "You should talk to her before you go."
Ashley didn't say anything for a long moment. "I think the time away will be a good thing, right?" she asked.
"That's up to you."
"I feel like I need to prove to myself… and to everyone else that I can be self-sufficient."
"No one's ever doubted that."
"After everything that's happened in the past few years… I just want to know I can take care of myself on my own, without everyone always being there. You know?"
John nodded. "I can understand that desire. I'll wish you luck, and remind you not to forget where home is."
Ashley smiled. "I won't. Thanks, Dad."
TBC...
A/N: One more chapter!