My my it is good to be back!

I graduated from community college, get the summer off and now its back to writing. Guys, seriously thank you very much for understanding how hard these last few months have been. Words cannot express how saddened I have felt not able to continue on with the story like I wished, and getting messages and support saying this missed this and that I should continue. Now that things in my life have balanced out I'm gonna finish this baby up! Until I get back in the swing of things, and familiarize myself with the plot again I'm gonna be posting one chapter a week until I feel one hundred percent confident about whipping them out like I use to.

For those of you who have been sticking with me since the beginning, thank you so much and for those of you new to this, welcome to the club! Enjoy your stay and please enjoy the hell out of this chapter!

Hours went by and the party grew in substantial size. Helena managed to pull herself together after being sick and returned to Edmona's group where she was graciously praised and welcomed back. Even some of the women went out of their way to ask if Helena was doing alright and if she needed any meds. She kindly accepted a few aspirin to take the pain from her stomach off as she glanced around, seeing that Leon was still over in the small group conversing with Vixayla and Crane. The two men then got up and exchanged a strong handshake and Helena couldn't help but smile a bit. Leon worked his magic on them alright.

She couldn't help but keep an eye peeled for Ada especially after the encounter they had. Her thought danced inside her mind pondering what it was the woman was after this time and whether or not she would put Leon and the mission at hand in jeopardy. Painful memories of Operation Jarvis surfaced for her once more, but only for the moment as she grew distracted by more talking from Edmona and the rest of her posse. This continued long out through the night and as it started to approach three in the morning, Helena could feel her legs wanting to shatter. She hadn't ever been this active with people for this long of time and grew exhausted. The one thing she managed to get out of this was Edmona's weakness was her children for that were the only thing she talked of. As much as it would be a sour move on her part, Helena knew that if Leon's cover and hers were ever broken she might have to use the kid, Sven, as a bargaining chip. That alone made her insides swell up as she came to terms with the fact.

After Crane had given a speech about charity and the wonders of the human race, Leon finally caught up to Helena and he motioned it was time for them to get going. Helena couldn't have been more happier to hear that coming from him as they exited out of the giant room and headed outside, waiting for their limo to return. They were both silent during the wait as the limo finally pulled up. Leon opened up the door and allowed Helena to get inside, but not before he could enter a man was running up to them leaving Helena's eyes widened with shock somewhat as the man gently tugged at Leon's shoulder.

"Excuse me?"

Leon remarked, startled somewhat himself as the young man caught his breath holding out an envelope.

"Mr. Crane wishes for you to attend the next benefit along with your wife of course. He also wishes for you to join up with an audience alongside Ms. Gionne. Your wife has also been invited to join Mrs. Crane as well. Inside is a pass to the next party as well as personal instruction from Mr. Crane. Enjoy your evening."

The young man gave a light bow as Leon took the envelope and nodded at the man before entering the car alongside Helena. He handed the envelope to her as she opened it and studied the invitation carefully along with the personal note.

"Seems to me you are already cutting deals with the man?"

Helena gave a light smile, reading over how Crane was most impressed with an offer that Leon had given to him. Leon smirked a bit and looked over at Helena, seeing that she looked tired.

"I made him an offer he couldn't refuse."

Helena cocked an eyebrow looking over at him as she placed the invitation and note back inside of the envelope.

"What kind of offer? And how did you get him to talk to you right off the get go?"

Leon adjusted his posture and leaned a bit into the seat as he gave his full focus to Helena.

"Well, apparently you bumped into him and pointed him in my direction. We stroke up a conversation about businesses and then one thing led to another. Vixayla even said some positive remarks about me, keeping Crane interested once he heard that I was good at paying off my dues. He talked about some of his partnerships with a B.O.W. branch somewhere in Europe where we evidently 'live' at and then he brought up Bora Bora and the compound he had there which houses a lot of exotic B.O.W's. I told him we were looking for more investment deals in the tropics because of how discreet it has been and he's offering up a patch of land for us to buy to start our own B.O.W compound."

Helena's eyes widened as she took in the news.

"That was pretty fast, don't you think?"

"What makes you say that?"

Helena couldn't help but feel a little bit worried as she repeated some of the news inside her head. Sure, it was great that Leon and the man already established a good partnership and a guarantee pass into the next party, but there was something tugging at her instincts right now. That too much good was happening ever so quickly. That Crane already put too much into Leon right now.

"I thought—and from what Markus had said about him according to you, Crane wasn't one that easily trusted people let alone allow new blood into the group so willingly. Do you think that he's possibly toying with us, that someone tipped him off and he's just playing along?"

Leon turned his attention inward and began thinking of Helena's questions and statement. He even had to admit a part of himself was beginning to wonder the same thing. Before he had taken off, Markus did mention something along the lines of that, that Crane was not a man easily fooled nor was he one to welcome anyone new. Then again Markus did state it had been years since he had last talked to his godfather, perhaps he had changed over the years. Who really knew what the man was like at this point? Leon pushed this onto the back burner of his mind however, looking at the accomplishment as it was for the night. What mattered right now was that Helena and him were in the club practically, and they already had their foot in the door. His eyes glazed over at her, contemplative as she looked up at his blue orbs with concern lurking in her expression.

"I think we need to take what happened tonight with a grain of salt, Lena. I mean sure, his approach has been a bit quick but what is important right now is we got him eating out of our hands. It's only a matter of time before we get access to Bora Bora and catch him red handed with all of this mess."

Even though he sounded so confident in himself, the look on her face suggested otherwise. It didn't do much to bring her comfort as he could tell.

"Lena, did something happen at the party?"

Helena could find herself sighing a bit, thinking about the encounter she had with Ada. Shaking her head, she figured she would give him a piece of what happened. Besides, she had her own questions for him in regards to the woman.

"Ada was at the party. I bumped into her while I was looking for the bathroom. She said she had some beef with Crane or something along the lines. I can't really remember much. Leon, you didn't tell her about the mission did you? On the butterfly hair clip she put a tracking device on it so she could hear into conversations."

The way she said it almost sounded as if he had stung her. He shook his head rapidly, his expression getting serious as he tried to find the words.

"No, I haven't even talked to her since the Jarvis assignment. There is no way she would have known anything from me. Besides you just told me right now she had been tracking our conversations. Why would you assume I would tell her about this mission, especially since it's so dangerous for me and you?"

Helena shrugged and shook her head.

"I'm sorry; I just thought that maybe you might have told her given her circumstances."

Leon shook his head.

"No, I would never do that. I don't know what she's up to, but her business is her own. We won't get into it and leave it at that."

He gripped her hand tightly, the two of them remaining silent the rest of the drive to the hotel they were staying at. Each one feeling like they had weight in their throats, that there was more trouble coming for them than what they had wanted.

When they got back to the hotel, Helena went to the bathroom to change while Leon waited on the bed, sitting on the edge of it. His palms resting on his face as he took in a breath. He was worried about this. Especially once he had heard from Helena that Ada had been after Crane as well. It was strange to be hearing that, that the three of them shared a common enemy. Leon then assumed perhaps Ada had problems with the man when she use to work for the Family. That had to be it, otherwise why would she wire tap the hair clip? But then again, as he started to think harder on the issue he reached another unsettling outcome. Maybe because of what happened during the Jarvis mission and after their spat perhaps she might be in league with Crane but pulling something as a revenge shot. It could also very well explain why Crane was being so open to the offers Leon had laid out on the table for the man, because perhaps Ada had been listening in on the mission and to work her way up the ranks to earn Crane's trust, told him of the plans Leon and Helena had to get the man arrested.

The very thought was unsettling to him as he wiped some sweat from his forehead, over thinking every possible situation. His own thoughts working against his judgment as he contemplated what Ada's involvement was going to be. In this moment he had wished he could converse with her, ask her what she was up to. Not knowing what she was planning scared him, and not knowing her motives made him weak in the knees. If there was one thing he wished he could have had back from their relationship, it would be her telling him the truth about what was going on or at least filing him in on her personal side missions and the like. He could now see why he had feared her before they had got together, and it just reaffirmed how unpredictable she was and how dangerous she could be.

He felt himself collapsing onto the bed, his head hitting the pillow behind him with a soft thud as she closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Tilting his head to the side, he could hear Helena coughing vividly in the bathroom. He shot up from his side his of the bed and made his way over, knocking on the door for a brief second before allowing himself inside.

"Lena? Are you alright?"

He said gently, peeking through the door as he saw blood trailing down her lips. His eyes were frozen in fear as he opened up the door all the way and rushed down to her. Getting on his knees and holding her up he pat the side of her face taking her temperature.

"What's wrong with you? What's going on?"

Helena shook her head, she had thrown up but this time there was blood intermingled with the vomit. Leon could see that in the toilet as he gave a brief look of disgust, not meaning to because he didn't want to seem rude but this scared him greatly. Stroking little pieces of hair from her face he held her still as she coughed, small droplets of blood making their way onto his dress shirt he was wearing as she tried to talk.

"L-Leon I'm going to be fine I'm just a little sick."

He shook his head.

"No, you're beyond sick. You're hitting a fever right now too."

He felt her forehead and as quickly as she started feeling sick she was better. She pushed herself up, getting out of his grasp as she pant a bit, motioning for him to give her a towel or something. He obliged, getting up real quick and handing her one from the cupboard nearby. Kneeling down to her level once again the concern on his features was great. Helena wiped the blood from her lips as she swallowed hard, trying not to look Leon right in the eye.

"Lena...is this a side effect of that serum or is this a new thing?"

Helena shook her head, still trying to keep herself together as she leaned up and flushed the toilet.

"Yeah, it's just another side effect."

She remarked, still seeing that none of this was flying by Leon. She knew he was probably thinking there was more to it, which there was. But given the stress he was already feeling right now especially bringing up Ada; she didn't want to add on more to it. Too many burdens and too many cards were stacked on them right now. Had she place her next card into the deck, the tower of them would collapse and leave them both broken. Especially Leon. She couldn't put this on him right now, not when he was already worrying about her every second on this godforsaken mission. Some part of her now started to regret sneaking onto the plane and coming with him.

Her thoughts were broken as he rested a hand on her shoulder, looking at her eyes tenderly and planting a kiss on her forehead. Glancing back he lightly shook his head.

"Hon, if there is more you're not telling me now is the time…I can't get you right back on a plane right now but if I have to I'll abort the mission and take you home. We can catch Crane another time. I'm really concerned for your health. I know these are just 'side effects' but you're scaring me."

Brushing more strands of hair from her face, and taking out the butterfly hair clip from her hair, he somewhat chucked the thing off to the side, pulling her close to him and embracing her tightly.

"I know we've been having problems…trust issues and all with Ada and the mission being stressful. But I want you to know right here and now my number one priority is you. You come first, always."

Helena nodded a bit into his shoulder, resting her chin there for a bit as she stroked the back of his neck somewhat. Closing her eyes and taking in his words.

"Leon, nothing else is wrong. It's just side effects and we can't abort the mission. There is already too much at stake right now."

She was going to take up his offer on going home, but then when she thought back to Ada she had to get rid of that thought completely. While in the limo, Helena had been drawing similar conclusions as Leon had. That Ada might have been in league with Crane and if they were to abort the mission and leave right now, it didn't guarantee that Crane would come looking for them especially if it was true and their assumptions were right that Ada was up to something. She could easily give the names to the man and their lives would be ruined once more. They would have to go on the run again, go into hiding and possibly not survive this round. If the remnants of the Family were to find out about Helena being alive, they would stop at nothing to get her. If they found out about her and Leon's relationship, there is no way they would stop themselves from also tracking and butchering him. No, she couldn't risk that and couldn't risk Leon's life on this matter. She would have to suck up her guts and keep playing up this dangerous act. Even if it jeopardized her in more ways than one.

Pulling away from him, she only offered a smile hiding the real pain that lurked inside of herself. The real truth of what she was dealing with cascaded off to the side as she offered a sincere look.

"You worry too much. Leon I can handle this. Besides it's already too late in the game. We can't turn around from this and back down. Crane has to be stopped; all of those people in the group have to be brought to justice no matter the cost."

He gently shook his head though, offering a light smile still a hint of sadness in those eyes of his.

"If it's at the cost of you though, I'm not going to go through with it."

"Leon—"

"No buts, none of that. If at the next party things get out of whack or if you start getting sick bad like this I'm going to get you out of there. One way or another. We'll deal with the consequences of that decision later on."

She let out a breath sigh, coughing up a little bit more as she motioned for him to help her up. He swiftly moved out of the way and pulled her up to her feet, leading her to the bed room and allowing her to sit down on the edge of the bed for a moment as he pulled the covers up. He thought maybe he was overreacting now about her condition, that maybe she was feeling the side effects badly because it was so late at night and she hadn't received any sleep. Helena crawled over to her side and gently lied down as he tucked her in then walked over to the other side, pulling off his shirt as he crawled into bed with her, not caring about anything else at the moment. He pulled her close to him, trying to bring some sort of comfort not just for her sake but for his own. His mind had been so preoccupied with the mission at hand and the act he had to pull off that he now stopped to think about things. He really didn't know what he would do if he lost Helena to a mission so devious it made him sick. He still had his doubts as well about her telling him and reassuring that she was alright.

This whole mission, this whole pit that the two of them were stuck in finally began to hit him hard in the head. He should have gotten her off the plane when he had the chance, should have made sure she wouldn't attempt to sneak on this mission, should have said things differently. Should have never asked Hunnigan to take Helena off the mission in the first place but instead should have talked to her about it. Maybe, had he not act so overprotective, she would be at home right now getting better and getting proper treatment for her side effects. That was the protective side of him talking, but as he looked to the other portion of his mind they were partners through and through. He knew now more than ever after this night he wouldn't have been able to pull off half of this without her being there, though they didn't get to interact much together at the event she gave him that extra boost of confidence to deal with those people.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't even realize he had gone to sleep. His worries drowning away amongst his dreams. Helena on the other hand was still wide awake, still scared as she felt a pang jab in her stomach. Placing her hand near it she rubbed the spot tenderly trying to keep herself calm. The next event was going to be in a week, and starting now she had to be ready for whatever was to come, no matter how small.