The Adventures of Tintin: The Girl and the Tesseract Machine
A Science Fiction Romance
Written by: FossilQueen1984
Disclaimer: I only own Helene and her mother, Rosamund. All other characters belong to George Remi, Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, Russell T Davies, BBC, BBC America and 20th Century Fox. Enjoy the update! Death from the Sandman saga makes an appearance here, she belongs to Neil Gaiman.
Suggested Soundtrack: Princess Leia's theme- John Williams, Mechanical Lullaby- Coraline, Doctor Who theme, Lothlorien-Enya
Chapter 21: Subconscious Reconciliation
Somewhere in the murky dimensions between the conscious and subconscious, Helene found herself wide awake and alert. Standing up, she shouted out into the misty surrounding, "Hello? Is anyone here?" She could hear nothing but the chirping of crickets. The faint smell of freshly brewed tea led her along an overgrown path. There was no sun, but something had to be lighting the area. The trees were seemingly charred, but Helene could hear cuckoos and blue jays twittering in the branches above her.
"I'm in such a strange, sunless land. Is this Limbo, my subconscious or something else," she mused as she ambled up towards a large cabin perched above a patch of dried, grey grass. There were lamps visible from the windows, when a cheerful looking girl greeted her. Her house dress was lace tulle, her wild black hair was braided and she bore a silver ankh! It was Death.
Confused, she asked if they had died from the violent G forces. Death chuckled, "No, none of you are dead yet. The G forces just knocked you out, not a pleasant feeling. Come on in, the others are waiting." Wondering just who else was there, Helene let Death show her into the den where she saw Tintin and Snowy having a lively conversation with her mother!
Standing up when he heard someone enter, Tintin greeted his wife with a tender kiss. Helene smiled, "I see you made it as well. Tintin, where are we?" Leading her back to the loveseat, Augustin explained that they were in Death's realm for a temporary respite.
Rosamund smiled at her daughter, "I have been catching up with Augustin while we waited for you. Darjeeling, sweetheart? I remember when you were both small children running around the Kempinski lobby in Stalingrad, such an excitable child. I was happy to see you two are married now. I got Haddock's postcard. I just want you two to know how happy I am for you."
Resting her head on Augustin's shoulder, Helene inquired, "Professor Calculus told me about how he and Jack Harkness picked you up at the train station in Ghent on the stormiest night of the year. Now that you're here, please tell us, mother. Who is my biological father? Is it Archibald Haddock or Diedrich Sakarin?"
Rosamund frowned; she was sensitive about the subject and never told anyone about it, even Death and Herge. But, with Sakarin's death warrant hanging over Helene's head and the rescue mission for Dalek Caan under way, this was the time to tell. Smoothing out the pleats of her grey skirt, the older woman let out a sigh from the bowels of her soul, and began to tell her daughter and son in law the truth.
"I never told anyone who your father was out of fear, not only for myself and you, but for all of Torchwood. You see, Helene, the night you were conceived, I made love twice. The first time was with Haddock in the back seat of Sec's American roadster, and the second time… I was raped by Sakarin after presenting him with divorce papers. The next thing I remembered was waking up in a hospital, I had fought with Sakarin about having a child, and worried that I was pregnant, demanded an immediate abortion and sterilization! Angry and upset, I managed to explain the situation and presented my legal papers. I knew that Sakarin would want legal action against the man who had cuckolded him. When I got to the train station, Sakarin accused me of playing fast and loose with his reputation. I fought back, breaking his nose in the process. He swore that no man would want a pregnant scientist for a wife, so he left me behind as his train left for Geneva. Mind you he cut me pretty well, and then I felt like fainting when Harkness and Calculus found me. I was ranting like a lunatic, of course when we got to Marlinspike, Haddock was about ready to go on a rampage when he saw my state. To be honest, I am not sure who your father is, my dear. It could either be Sakarin or my dear Haddock," the woman intoned, her dark eyes teary about the subject.
Helene was incensed, "How could he do that to you? You have rights under Belgian law… that bastard! He wants me dead because of my parentage and the Tesseract machines!" Tintin held her close, a duel reason for revenge. That was cold blooded, indeed.
A shocked voice interrupted the silence, "Typhoons, is that true, Rosamund? Sakarin raped you after our roll in the hay?" Standing in the threshold was Haddock, pale faced and quite out of sorts. Unable to move, Rosamund stood up and crossed over to her ex boyfriend. Stroking his face softly, she said to him, "You're world weary, Archibald. Have the years been kind to you? After that night… I couldn't face the truth. I really did love you, I was happy Helene had you as a father; I shudder to think that Sakarin could have reared her, but I couldn't face life after what I had been through. I wanted to leave, someplace without danger. I hurt everyone, but I wanted Helene away from the influences that made me an outsider. Please darling, forgive me." Pulling him into an embrace, she began to cry.
Breaking out of his silence, Haddock blew his nose on his sleeve, and softly kissed Rosamund, "Typhoons Rosamund, I already forgave you when Helene came home. I was selfish to ask you to marry me. But, that's ancient history." He pulled her into a sweeping kiss and stroked her hair fondly. Tintin and Helene wiped away their tears; this was a happy reunion indeed.
Just then, a weightless feeling enveloped the room. Snowy barked in surprise, "What's going on? Are we waking up?" Death smiled, "You are waking up now. Good luck and Rosamund's staying at the outpost, so you will see her again. Farewell."
As they parted, the light grew brighter, and a static sounding voice broke the silence as the rocket living quarters came back into focus, "Earth to rocket, is anyone awake? You have cleared Earth? Hello?"
Somewhat groggy, Tintin reached for the receiver, "We read you loud and clear. Tintin speaking, we're all coming around now. We're all right." Helene smiled softly, and they shared a kiss as Haddock confirmed they were indeed all right.