I do not own Sanctuary.
Sorry for the delay, coursework time at the moment :P But here it is...
Helen clenched her hands, then stretched her fingers, the exercise doing little to quiet the nerves dancing in her stomach. It was almost three, there was a tray of sandwiches in the fridge, the tea set was as prepared as it could be without the tea being likely to go cold. Her heart beat traitorously in her chest, she thought of Nikola's thoughtfulness last night and a flash of guilt went through her that she was so on edge about John's visit. She reminded herself that it was not only a few days ago that John had taken her out to dinner and told her over desert that he would like to be more than friends, his usually confident and commanding demeanour softened by tenderness, it was over a century and the fluttery feelings of a youthful infatuation had no place here. She rubbed her palms against her skirt and wondered if she had worn the right outfit, but there was no time to change now, the sound of knocking on the door broke into her thoughts. She stepped forward to answer it.
"John, prompt as always, the others are in the study." The firm jaw and clean shaven head was as stark a reminder as she could ask for that he wasn't as he had been, she was able to keep her voice cool and polite, a small curve to her lips as she gestured for him to come in.
"Good afternoon Helen, I must say you are looking quite splendid today, that colour is most fetching on you, it brings out your eyes wonderfully." She closed the door behind him and he claimed her hand as she went to move past him back towards the study, lifting it as he bent to kiss it, his lips lingering slightly before he straightened, still not releasing her hand until she removed it from his.
"Very original Johnny." Nikola commented from the doorway. "All entirely true of course but you are supposed to be here for the meeting first and compliments over tea afterwards." His tone was wry and John's eyes narrowed as they glared at each other.
"I wouldn't expect you to understand proper etiquette in visiting a lady." John practically growled, sending an unpleasant chill down Helen's spine. "But as it happens I do have some information that might be quite useful." He grinned darkly, confident that his discovery would impress Helen.
"Then, by all means, let us go in." Helen spoke, stepping between the two men and walking firmly towards Nikola and the door to the study behind him. "I think we have dallied in the entrance hall quite long enough." John hurried to catch up to her entering behind her as Nikola closed the door behind them. John claimed the chair closest to Helen, a gloating smirk sent in Nikola's direction as he was left with the chair opposite her, Nikola just raised an eyebrow and smirked back, thinking of their closeness the night before. Helen on the other hand was less than amused by their antics. "I was wondering how your progress was coming along Nikola?" The sweet innocent smile told him that she knew he had not made much progress, it was hard to get far when they didn't have the actual machine or it's schematics, he scowled at her. "Henry?" She asked.
"I was able to figure out how they go about setting up the bases and I think I can try and guess where they're setting up shop next, I'm working on tracing back their finances, see if we can find out where they're getting their funding. I still can't tell why though, I mean there's lots of people who would welcome an advantage over the great Helen Magnus but nobody seems to be trying to press it, they don't seem to care about making us weak, so I'm not sure what their plan is."
"Collecting abilities, Helen's longevity is quite the prize." John commented. "I was able to find out who we're looking for." He was happy at the attention the comment gained him, especially Nikola's glare and Helen's surprise. "They have been capturing abnormals of various kinds for their experiments, Helen is the only one to have survived the procedure. My source was quite informative once I had persuaded him to talk." Helen stifled the shiver that wanted to pass through her at the darkness in his voice, surely he wasn't sitting in her study talking so casually about torture? She must be misinterpreting it? "They are attempting to place multiple abilities from multiple abnormals into a single subject, the process of removing their abilities generally destroys the abnormal, in Helen's case the hypothesis is that as she was human before she was injected with the source blood she reverted to that state, whilst the others were born abnormal. They were planning to board a plane to another laboratory they have set up in Germany, but he didn't know where. Still reckon you could manage without me?" He asked, directing his question at Will.
"Yes, but thank you for the information anyway, it will be very helpful, I'm sure Henry will be able to narrow that down." He shot a glance at Henry who nodded and began tapping away at his pad, putting the data into the search system he had been setting up.
"Now if there's nothing more you need me for, I believe Helen and I had plans?" He smirked again at Nikola as he stood, extending a hand towards Helen. She shot a questioning look towards Will, if she was needed, he shrugged. She placed her hand in John's, allowing him to lead her from the room wincing slightly at the look Nikola gave her.
He sat ever so slightly too close on the couch that he had seated them on in the living room, the warmth of his knee seeping through the fabric against her own and his reluctance to let go of her hands were indicative of the intimacy he seemed to want. "Helen." His voice was soft, but deep as he said her name, yet still there was an undercurrent of danger, for all that his lips smiled his eyes were calculating, it was all about the hunt.
"John." She replied, allowing a hint of a smile to her lips despite the tightness in her back.
"It must be such a shock for you, coming here, when was the last thing you remember before this?" He spoke in a soothing tone but he was looking for an edge, Helen swallowed, deciding to stick with the polite tone she had always used for small talk.
"The evening when we were to inject ourselves with the source blood. Two days after you asked my permission to court me." Her voice was soft and her eyes down, focused on her lap. He smiled, thinking that here, alone, and obviously younger than the woman he was used to, he might be able to manipulate her more successfully.
"I would still very much like to." She couldn't help the flutter that comment brought to her chest, but he mind slipped back to last night and the tender way in which Nikola had cared for her, her needs coming above his desire for more, though he had not hidden it from her.
"I... I'll get the tea." She muttered, rising to do so just as there was a knock on the door, standing halfway between the couch and the door she glanced back to John, who raised an eyebrow and shrugged. She opened it.
"You forgot to get these from the kitchen Doc." Henry said smiling, the tea tray in his hands. "Did you want me to get the cake and stuff as well?"
"Thank you Henry but no. I think if Nikola had intended it for John I'm quite sure it wouldn't be safe to eat."
"Tesla made that? It's got half a dozen layers."
"Five, and yes, yesterday." Realisation crossed Henry's face, causing confused frustration to cover John's, a black anger that he quickly hid. "If you want you can ask him if he would mind you and William having a piece, so long as there is some left for me to have after dinner." Helen said shutting the door before putting the tray on the table.
"Nikola Tesla behaving domestically? I never thought I'd see the day." John's rumble was low, his eyes on Helen to see her reaction to his behaviour.
"He has learned some things in the last few decades, I assume that is one of the best aspects of an extended lifespan, the opportunity to continue to learn new things." She sat slightly further from him than before, not so much as to be obvious but enough that she couldn't feel the warmth of his knee through her skirt. Her voice was mild, non-committal but he'd known her long enough to see the slight traces of disapproval at his attitude.
"Helen," He smiled at her, capturing her hand again, "you always were more progressive than me when it came to gender roles, a woman ahead of her time. But please, I asked to speak with you to explain myself, my actions, the things you have been told about me, I want you to believe that they were not my fault."
"You were under the influence of a destructive spiritual entity similar to the religious descriptions of a possessing demon which removed your inhibitions and magnified your darkest desires. Is that an accurate summation? I asked Henry to explain this morning." She struggled not to smile at the surprise on his face as she handed him a cup of tea. "I am not overly concerned by your past actions John, I am however by how they have changed you, and how you might act in the future."
"They haven't changed anything Helen, I still love you."
"John. People change, the events of even the past few days, of being here in such a strange place, I can only imagine the impact they have had on yourself and Nikola, and barely guess at the changes they must have wrought on me, did you realise fully half of the clothes in my wardrobe these days show not only ankle but knee? And most of the others are trousers. I cannot, and will not, expect you to be the same as you were then, pretending that you are will only make it harder to acquaint myself with who you have become."
"And Nikola hasn't changed? I don't suppose he's told you about when he nearly killed you in Rome, or his various attempts to take over the world."
"He has changed." Her eyes dropped to her lap and a slight blush graced her cheeks unbidden at the thought of the kiss they had shared the night before, evidence more than anything else of how he'd changed. "But this is not about him."
"Helen, he's turning you against me, we had something so very special..." His pleading tone had a undercurrent of anger, which sent an unpleasant shiver down her spine.
"John, it is your actions which lead to my caution on behalf of the residents here, and will be your behaviour, not his, which shapes my opinion of you. Aside from which there is every likelihood the matter will be rendered moot in a matter of days when my memory is restored, and with it whatever opinion I had formed of you from your behaviours."
"Do you really need the memories back Helen? There's so many painful stories there that I would rather you not have to carry with you." He seemed concerned, but the words rang hollow, Helen might have less experience of the world than her counterpart but she also didn't have the remnants of the love she had borne him to help in his deceptions. He was hardly hiding the fact that he wanted to attempt a relationship with her again, but something in the cool and casual way he suggested it indicated he might be hiding something from her. He knew something about the process or its reversal, something about her memories. She could hardly accuse him of it though, and as for working out what it was he knew... she bit her lip briefly, but decided not to dig into it, and hope he might let more slip without realising. "Are you so desperate to return to the way things were, alone with only the sanctuary to give your life meaning?" His soft voice was intended to be persuasive, but it merely made her feel even less at ease.
"I give my life meaning John, I will do everything I can to retrieve those memories and that aspect of myself because the team wants and needs its leader back, and because it is the right thing to do, however much it may frighten me. My feelings for yourself or Nikola are incidental to the matter. I hope you will not attempt to persuade me further on the matter."
"Oh I know quite well how stubborn you can be when you choose to be Helen, I wouldn't dream of trying to dissuade you." Again she could see a meaning beneath his words, a knowledge, something which led him to be unconcerned by the prospect. "But if you should find the memories cannot be recovered? Would you consider my affections then?" He smirked his hand gripping hers again, almost possessively, the breath caught in her throat at the heat in his eyes as he stared at her. "I should very much like your permission to court you again." Though it was a statement it hung in the air like a question.
"We shall see what happens. I should warn you that I understand Nikola to be of similar intentions." She tried to keep her voice as neutral as possible, as if merely discussing the weather but the tightening of his hand on hers as she spoke was almost painful, before he loosened his grip consciously and pressed a kiss to her hand.
"A little competition from the Serb will not dissuade me Helen, you have always been a prize worthy of my efforts." The dark undertone to his confident statement made her worry about Nikola's safety but she forced herself to smile at the intended compliment. "Might I invite you to join me on a picnic tomorrow? I remember how you love to relax in the outdoors and there is a spot I would like to take you to with an extraordinary view."
"I should expect that would be acceptable. Provided there no immediate issues arise to conflict with the arrangement. Would you like me to prepare a basket for us?" She kept her tone light, but she knew Nikola would hate to know she would be spending time with John. The only way to decide what to do about the two of them would be to gather more information and she couldn't do that if she spent the entire time concerning herself more over their feelings than investigating what her own might be.
"Please, allow me to, I have recently noticed that it may not only be men whose hearts may be reached through the stomach." The wryness in his voice pulled a small smile from her.
"I will look forward to it, shall we say noon?"