"How did it go?"
"How did what go?" Helene looked up from her book, The Surgeon, a thriller she was loathe to put down, towards her bedmate.
"The therapeutic session today."
She sighed, setting a bookmark in between the pages and folding the book shut. "I can't say that anything was really resolved. But it was a beginning. I don't think he'll be shouting at the house at all hours of the day or night anymore."
"Will there be more such sessions?"
"I think so, yes."
"How many do you think it will take to resolve it all?"
"I don't know."
"Helene, I don't think this will be resolved until you figure out what you want out of all this."
"I want…" She took a deep breath, bracing herself as she spoke slowly. "I want things to go back to the way they were. Before..." she gestured, shaking her head. "before this whole fiasco. Preferably without the implicit risk to my career, or the… various disturbances."
She couldn't read his expression, and so she set the book aside, running one hand soothingly over his shoulder. "You and he got along well, didn't you?"
"While he knew where he stood in our lives."
She nodded, quietly.
"Loyola-" she suppressed an ironic smile "has an opening for a sociology professor. It's a five-year contract, with the possibility of tenure later. I've begun preparing an application."
"The committee hasn't decided yet."
"Honestly, Theo, how do you honestly think they'll rule?" She smiled slightly, arching an eyebrow at him. Slightly more seriously: "It wouldn't change anything besides our morning coffee breaks and my commute."
"It's certainly a viable option. You would likely do well to start looking for openings."
"You have your place. I don't intend to make us move because I damaged my own career and reputation."
"Somewhere in New England might also be an option. We could stand being closer to Dylan, and there are excellent universities there."
"I don't know if he'd want us closer, and he won't be there for more than a few more years." She smirked slightly. "Of course I'd love to see him more, but he's doing well on his own. It is always an option, though, if you want me to look there."
His cheek was warm under the chaste press of her lips.
Author's Note: Hooray for multiple chapters at once!
Given that Sasha Alexander essentially confirmed that Helene will at least not be returning during Season 6 (and I assume forever) I have taken the liberty of taking their relationship in a different direction from canon.