This would have been up earlier but the Doctor Who Christmas special was on and... well... Doctor Who.

Thank you to those reviewing, it's for you I write :P Keep 'em comin' and I'll try to pick up the pace. Deal?

xx

It hurts, more than he thought anything could ever hurt. Everything is on fire, burning away with an intensity that is unmatchable. But the worst part is, it's bearable. He can easily push past it now, fight that rolling waves of whatever and let his mind wander. Maybe because it's not that bad, maybe because after so many times he's just used to it. Oh, he thinks, oh, it's over. The rolling has stopped but now his head is going fuzzy again. Things move that little further from his mental grasp and it all becomes a little too much like work.

Helen was exhausted. Her business trip had been full of bickering and complaints and she'd spent every minute fighting tooth and nail for someone, anyone to listen to her. Even after all these months, after all these times she'd saved their collective arses, no one was willing to go against the U.N.

"Bloody pansies," she muttered, pushing open the front door. And, as if that wasn't bad enough, they'd actually closed the panel three days early so as to stop her from presenting her very best arguments to the few people who'd been even a little sympathetic to her plight. It wasn't that she needed the extra funding (though it certainly wouldn't go astray) but more that, if she could get a few more people on her side, maybe, eventually, the government would give up on their mission to destroy the relationship between abnormals and the humans that she'd spent a few too many life times working on.

Trudging up the stairs, Helen decided on a course of action. First, she'd go and dump her bags, then double check that Will had the paperwork under control and then, then she'd go up to the gym and beat the living daylights out of the punching bag. Grim smile in place, her pace quickened.

"Hey Doc!" Kate called out with a wide and ominous grin. "Didn't think you'd be back for another few days at least."

"Plans change," Helen said, trying not to sound short. The poor girl was back here for a very quick visit and had been put in charge of supervising Nikola so she hardly deserved Helen's temper. In fact, she'd taken the news of Nikola's condition in her stride, talking to him politely, trying not to frighten him with the full extent of their history which, though brief, could hardly be described as chummy.

"Well, it's a good thing you're here," the girl continued, almost bouncing, mischief dancing in her eyes. "We've got something to show you."

"We?" Helen echoed as she was ushered down the corridor.

"I didn't tell him to do it I swear," Kate promised, eyes wide. "And we didn't show him any pictures or anything. It was all his own doing."

"Whose own doing? What's happened?" Helen asked, getting more and more confused by the minute.

Kate said nothing, simply chuckling and picking up the pace. It was then Helen realised where they were going.

"Nikola?" she asked Kate. "What happened to him? Did he remember something?"

"Just you wait," Kate said gleefully as they came to a stop outside Nikola's room.

"What did you do?" Helen asked solemnly. Grinning madly, Kate knocked once and pushed open the door that already stood slightly ajar.

"Helen!" Nikola cried happily, springing up from his seat by the bookcase. "I didn't think you'd be home for another few days!" His happiness was contagious as he walked quickly towards her, smiling broadly.

Helen spluttered, dropped her bag and gaped.

"What?" he asked, coming to an abrupt stop, face falling. "Is it the suit?" he said after a moment. Unlike when she left, Nikola was dressed in a fine, charcoal suit, reminiscent of those she was so used to seeing him wear. Smoothing down the waist coat, he cleared his throat, looking uncertainly between Kate's barely contained grin and Helen complete and utter shock.

"Kate took me shopping," he said, brow creasing. "She said I could get anything I wanted and I..." he trailed off and Kate burst out into great peals of laughter. "What's wrong with the suit?" he asked, sounding offended. With a huff, Nikola rolled his eyes and began to take off the jacket, throwing it towards the bed, small pout forming. "Just go, it was a stupid idea," he muttered as he began to undo the cuffs.

"No, Nikola, it's not that," Helen choked out.

"Then why is she laughing at me?" he cried angrily, crossing his arms as he waited for an answer.

"It's... ah..." Helen began as laughter threatened to burst forth from her lips. Taking a deep breath she tried again. "Well..." And that was as far as she got before the sight before her became too much. Chuckling at Nikola, Helen took a few steps back and towards the bed, landing on it with another uncommon giggle. Now Nikola looked really shocked. His eyebrows shot up and his hands moved to rest on his hips which only served to inflame her laughter.

"What is it?" he demanded, frustration clear.

Through her laughter, Helen cleared her throat before getting up from the bed and walking towards him, mischievous grin in place.

"It's this," she chuckled, brushing a fingertip against the rather impressive moustache he'd grown since she'd left before cupping his cheek lightly.

"Oh."

And then she was laughing again, harder than before. Nikola scowled at her, spinning on his heel and stalking to the bathroom. He slammed the door shut angrily and Helen sobered immediately.

"Nikola, come back out here, I'm sorry I laughed at you," she called, walking towards the door.

"I leave you to deal with this," Kate said quietly, winking before booking it, laughter floating back down the corridor.

"Nikola?" she called, hand on the door knob. Pleased that he'd forgotten to lock it, she twisted the knob, pushing it open slowly. As she'd expected he was standing in front of the mirror, razor in hand, upper lip covered in a generous amount of shaving cream.

"Go away Helen. It was a dumb idea," he grumbled, raising the blades to his face. With slow, measured strokes, his free hand holding his skin taught, he drew the razor carefully along his upper lip and, for some reason Helen was entranced. She'd seen men shave before but never with the delicate precision Nikola was employing. Something about his concentration was mesmerising and Helen felt her legs draw her forward until she stood just by his shoulder.

"Haven't you ever heard of privacy?" Nikola mumbled, eyeing her in the mirror. Needing, for some weird reason to get a better look at him, Helen shifted so that she stood next to him, resting her hip against the vanity, crossing her arms.

"Is there something I can do for you?" Nikola said and she could see the anger in his eyes.

"Here," she said softly, holding a hand out to him, prying the razor from his grip. With her free hand she touched her finger to his chin, turning him to face her. Then, trying for the dedication she'd seen in him, she proceeded to rid him of the hideous moustache.

Nikola said nothing, simply watching her with wide eyes. He seemed wary of her but whether or not the affectionate gesture frightened him, she wasn't certain and, frankly, she didn't care. Her actions were intimate and probably a little inappropriate, all things considered but she just couldn't stop herself.

All too soon he was again hairless and Helen found she had no excuse for the contact she was keeping. Gently she released his chin, setting the razor down before wetting a washcloth and handing it to him but, instead of taking the cloth, Nikola's long fingers landed around her wrist, pulling her hand to his face. Heart hammering away, she gently wiped at his lip, cleaning off the last of the shaving cream. She tried to avoid touching his skin but the wet cloth slipped every so often, letting her fingertips brush against the damp skin.

His eyes were still trained on her as he let his hand drop to his side again. His face gave nothing away but, as a single finger brushed against the corner of his mouth, he shuddered delicately, causing Helen to drop the cloth entirely. Hand on his jaw, Helen watched him intently for a moment, unable to disengage. Slowly, so slowly that she didn't notice it happening at first his hand began to snake across the edge of the vanity until long, warm fingers landed on her hip, snaking up to her waist, tracing a small circle with his thumb. His other hand, out of nowhere landed on her waist and began to tug at her gently, urging her closer.

The hand on his cheek slid down to his neck and, as she stepped closer, her arms encircled his neck. They were standing almost flush, breath mingling in the small space between them.

All of a sudden, an overwhelming rush of emotion overcame Helen and she tightened her grip on him, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

"I miss you Nikola, come back to me please," she whispered urgently, letting her lips drift over his pulse point briefly before she pulled back, extricating herself from his arms. He let her go quickly, clearing his throat as he turned back to the mirror. Unable to look him in the eye, Helen straightened her jacket before turning on her heel and striding from the room, hoping he didn't notice just how hard she was breathing.

A few hours later, when Helen was sitting in her office, trawling through the mountains of paper work that Will had 'forgotten' a soft knock at her door drew her attention away from requestions.

"Hi."

"Hi," she said, standing up and beckoning Nikola into the room. He paused for a moment in the doorway, straightening his dapper suit before striding over and taking the seat opposite her. With an uneasy smile he settled himself, looking anywhere but her face. Deciding that this new tentative Nikola was never going to take the first step, Helen cleared her throat and sat up a little straighter.

"Why did you decide to regrow the moustache?"

He chuckled, eyes sparkling at her.

"It was a bit ugly, wasn't it?" he allowed and Helen smiled.

"Quite. But that doesn't answer my question."

He rubbed a hand over his face before sighing heavily, as if lamenting the loss of hair.

"I don't know," he admitted with a sheepish shrug of his shoulders. "Something about it just felt familiar."

Helen said nothing, simply beaming at him. If he could remember his ridiculous moustache, perhaps there was hope after all.

"I'm so proud of you," she said with a smile, reaching over to hold her hand out to him. Lifting an eye brow at her words, he leant forwards to place his hand in hers. She rubbed a few encouraging circles with her thumb.

"Not that it isn't nice to hear you sound so encouraging, but do you mind if I ask why?" Nikola queried. With a soft laugh, Helen pulled back before standing up and striding over to one of her many bookshelves.

"I'll show you," she called over her shoulder before kneeling down to wrestle one of her old photo albums from the lowest shelf. Carefully, she flicked through the old and somewhat faded pictures until she found one taken of Nikola and herself in the early forties. While the picture was clearly dated, she knew it wouldn't be immediately obvious to Nikola that it wasn't taken in recent years.

With a small smile, she traced her finger over the picture before slowly sliding it out of its protective sleeve. It had always been one of her favourites and a second copy of the picture sat on one of the shelves in her room. They were both smiling broadly at the camera, her arm slung around his neck so that their cheeks were touching. She wore a wild grin but Nikola, even though he was laughing, looked faintly uncomfortable at the contact. They'd just met up again after nearly a decade apart and James had taken the candid shot. She'd been so overjoyed at his request that she come visit that, when the boat had arrived and she'd disembarked, she'd all but run towards him, throwing her arms around his neck in greeting. Nikola had received her embrace stoically at first but after she pressed a small kiss to his cheek, he'd almost melted into her embrace, holding her so tightly that, for the first time since John had left, she felt safe and secure. It wasn't until James caught up to them and coughed uncomfortably that they pulled away from one another. After all, she had been involved with James at the time.

Smiling at the memory she turned back towards him, holding the old photo gingerly.

"Here," she insisted, holding it out to him.

Raising an eyebrow he took it, mouth opening in shock as he took in the picture.

"Oh."

"Quite," she agreed, biting her lip to stop from laughing.

"It was really ugly," he said, not taking his eyes from the picture.

"Yes."

"Really, really ugly," he repeated before smiling and looking up at her. "But I like your red hair, it's spunky."

She chuckled indulgently at that, accepting the photo as he offered it back to her.

"That's not what you said at the time," she advised, setting the photo on her desk. Perhaps she ought to put it on display, rather than hiding it away in dusty old tomes.

"Oh this sounds promising," Nikola said grimly. "Pray tell, what disgustingly unkind quip did I come up with that time?"

"Well, after whispering into my ear that you'd very much like to see what I wore under my 'itchy' coat, you proceeded to publicly berate me for it. If I remember correctly, your exact words were 'it makes you look like a harlot'," she said with a cheeky grin and Nikola groaned.

"Can I just issue a blanket apology for all the terrible things I've said?" he asked, sounding a mite dejected.

"You've said plenty of nice things too," she said softly, eyeing the picture again.

"Do they make up for the nasty comments?" he asked softly, looking at her imploringly. Her first instinct was to stand up and rush to his side but she fought it. He was just barely getting used to her and being in the Sanctuary, surprising him with displays of affection that she'd so far avoided was probably not the best way to reassure him.

"Our history is complicated Nikola, don't let it get you down," she advised with a small smile and he sighed once more.

"You shaved it off not long after that," she continued, hoping to bring him back to the cheerful conversation she was used to. "At my insistence, of course."

"Of course," he said dryly, finally smiling softly at her. "Though I have a feeling that if you'd asked me earlier, I'd probably have done it then."

"Ah, well, unfortunately, I did ask you. And you did shave it a few times though you kept growing it back too. It took you years to finally accept my assessment of its unattractiveness," she replied with a small grimace.

"Bugger," he muttered, pulling a face before winking at her. "Well, at least I did this time. Surely that'll earn me some brownie points."

Helen laughed, smiling at him coyly before continuing.

"And what exactly do you intend to do with these brownie points?" she teased, a little taken aback when he smirked at her.

"Oh I'm sure I'll think of something."

Also, Nikola in 'Sanctuary For None'? Anyone else even more in love with him? *swoon*