Chapter 29 – A Framing in Whitechapel Part 4

Helen awoke groggily. She didn't remember falling asleep, nor did she remember binding her hands together.

She was lying in the gazebo in the middle of the garden, her head hurt slightly, and she had a definite sinking feeling in her gut.

"John?" she called out.

She heard a rustle in the bushes not to far away.

"James?" she called out again.

There was still no response.

"Nikola?" she called out once more.

"I remember when I first met you, I'd never seen anyone more beautiful," said John from the shadows.

Helen looked at him, her heart beating wildly.

"John…" she gasped.

"I knew I wanted to marry you from that first moment, but you were still attached to that Serbian," his tone was dark and menacing. "I thought when he left that all ties were severed and then you could love me as completely as I loved you."

"John, I did love you… I do love you," said Helen.

"I promised to love you for eternity, we shared so much more than love, Helen," he stepped out of the shadows. The moonlight reflected off the knife in his hands, the knife that had killed so many women before her.

"I gave you my blood to keep you alive so that you could be with me, so we could be together," her heart was threatening to run away and leave her behind; fear creeped into her bones and crawled up her spine.

"Yet it was not enough to keep your heart away from him," John growled.

"Nikola?" she watched his eyes as she spoke, cautiously.

"Yes!" he growled. "You don't think I know about your little tryst with that vampire! You tried to dismiss it, you pretended it never happened but I saw it! Helen, I saw it with my own eyes."

Helen thought back to her trip to New York, she had kissed Nikola, it was true, she had almost let him take her, take her far away, but John's ring had anchored her from going anywhere with Nikola.

Nikola had looked so disheartened, so heartbroken but he had accepted her decision, not willing to break her vows for one night of passion she would later regret. Now she regretted more than that.

"I chose you, John…it was just a kiss…I had to prove to myself that I had chosen rightly, I had, John! I love you, not Nikola!" she pleaded.

"That's not true, I see the way you look at him, I know you think of him, but you were promised to me, Helen," he tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "So I made a plan to break your connection to that boor. It was ingenius! George informed me when Nikola was in town then I went out to Whitechapel, slaughtered a whore, and then framed him for it! It was perfect, he was going to die by his lover's hand, but even with all that evidence against him you still couldn't bring yourself to kill him!"

"You're the Ripper?" she gasped.

"Yes, Helen, me! Because of you!" he snarled.

"You killed all those women just to get back at me for one mistake!" she cried.

"It wasn't just a mistake it was a betrayal," he grabbed her by the throat. "Every thing you share with him is a betrayal to us. Every thought you spend on him is a betrayal to me!" John spat.

"I don't think of him, not like you think!" Helen said, trying to remain calm.

"Please Helen, I see that look in your eyes," he brought he brought his hand up to hold her chin roughly. "I would've given you everything Helen, if only you'd given everything in return."

His eyes flickered with sadness.

"John, what have you done?" she shuddered and he released her.

"I have done what is necessary, I've killed Nikola…now I'm going to kill you," he lifted up the knife by his face. "You brought this upon yourself Helen."

"You bastard!" she cried swinging her leg around and kicking the knife out of his hand.

"I knew you'd put up a fight," he smirked and brought his hand up and hit her hard, knocking her down. "This will go by much easier if you lie still."

~~~~In The Maze~~~~

Nikola gasped, his eyes shooting open, a cough escaping as he sucked in fresh air.

He was alive. He couldn't believe it. He looked over to the empty needle lying in the grass beside him. It should have killed him; he should've melted from the inside out in a matter of seconds, according to Helen.

Then again, Helen has always had tricks up her sleeve.

He sat up, letting out a pained gasp, his insides weren't going to feel right for awhile, it may not have killed him but it still hurt like hell.

He saw the pistol John had left for him, to taunt him.

Nikola smirked slightly; won't he be surprised.

He picked up the pistol. One shot, one kill.

This bullet had only one name on it, and that was Jack.

He staggered to his feet.

Suddenly his vampire hearing picked up a cry, not far away.

Helen.

With a tighter grip on the gun Nikola ran as fast he could, stopping occasionally to listen for her cries. The maze was going to be a hindrance, but he had to save her, he had to save Helen.

~~~~Gazebo~~~~

Helen tasted the distinct metallic flavor of blood coming from her split lip.

She glared at John angrily, not giving him the satisfaction of her fear; she wasn't afraid of him, she hated him.

John casually walked over to where his knife had fallen.

He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and started to wipe the blade.

"Cry all you want, no one is coming to your rescue," he sighed and walked back, kneeling over her.

He took the same handkerchief and gently tied it around her neck.

"You're a bastard, John!" she spat.

"That may be true, but remember, I'm only the way I am because of you," he stroked her cheek gently.

"Will you take my uterus too? Or will you take my heart?" she growled, shaking his finger away from her skin.

"I will take anything that belongs to me," he grabbed the silver chain around her neck, holding her engagement ring. "Like this."

He tore it away from her, breaking the clasp; Helen winced in pain.

"Take it! I don't want it anymore!" she bit angrily.

He slapped her again.

"Don't say that! You loved me once! It's Nikola, he's tainted you," John said sadly.

"Then stop this, John, if you're right then he's dead, and we can be together," said Helen softly. She was trying to trick him, all she needed was one moment of distraction.

"Do you think I'm an idiot? Nikola may have been full of crap but he did say something true before he died, he said you'd never be able to love me once you found out," John used the knife to cut open her corset. "And now you have."

Helen felt the cool night air touch her bare skin.

John's fingers ghosted over her chest. Helen resisted the urge to bite his hand.

"How many nights that you spent with me were you thinking of him?" asked John.

"None, when I was with you I thought of nothing else! You were my love! It's your sickness John! You've deceived yourself!" she cried. "This power has poisoned you."

"Enough!" he cried grabbing her throat. "Enough, Helen."

He lowered the blade to her lily-white skin and sliced gently, earning a strained hiss from Helen.

The cuts were superficial, surface wounds, only deep enough to draw blood.

In her flesh he carved the words I AM-

Helen seethed, he held her still with her strong hand, she could do nothing but glare bitterly at him. Her eyes fixed on his.

John's face was graced with a vicious sadistic smile; he took his time with the blade, wanting the words to be perfect. He wanted her body to be found with this clear message permanently embedded into her skin.

He was so focused he almost did not hear the click of a gun being cocked, aimed straight at him

John's sadistic smile faltered as he realized the significance of that sound.

"I survived…" the words like ice crawling over John's features. His hands left Helen's body as if it were covered in poison.

Stepping past the shadows of the gazebo, Nikola entered into the halo of light from the lantern hanging in the rafters.

His chest heaved with hard ragged breaths, his eyes grey and angry; his pistol pointed directly at John's head.

"Step away John," he ordered sternly.

Helen watched the confusion flash through John's eyes.

"How did you…"

"I said, drop the knife, John, and step away!" barked Nikola.

John growled under his breath.

"Nikola!" gasped Helen. She had never been happier to see him, or a gun.

Nikola kept his gaze fixed on John as he slowly turned his head to look at him.

Both men could see the anger in each other's eyes.

"You've hurt enough people, John," Nikola snarled stepping up to him. "This reign of terror is at an end."

"She's mine!" John hissed.

"Not anymore! She ceased being yours the moment you decided to kill the first innocent girl," Nikola glared harshly.

"Are you going to kill me, Nikola?" asked John, a hint of sardonic laughter in his voice.

"I might," spat Nikola.

"Then do it!" John cried.

"First things first, step away from Helen," said Nikola.

John complied.

"And don't think of teleporting away, I've covered this gazebo with an electro-magnetic field that will disintegrate you instantly," John got to his feet and slowly moved away from Helen, turning to face Nikola completely.

Nikola stepped up to Helen, using a claw to cut the rope binding her hands and feet.

Helen immediately got up and moved behind him, away from John. Using his as a shield.

"I hope you two will be very happy together," John said viciously, glaring at the two of them.

Nikola rolled his eyes and turned to look at Helen for a moment.

"I think it's time you left, John," said Nikola, he said sharply, turning his gaze back on John.

"Make me," said John, he lunged for the two of them.

Nikola was quick and fired the pistol at him, hitting John in the chest.

John fell to the ground, gasping at the sudden pain in his chest. His eyes traced small trickle of blood leaking from the hole. He looked back up and grinned at Nikola.

"Well played, Boss," he gasped out. "Well played."

Then he disappeared in a flash of orange light.

As soon as he was gone Helen left out a sigh of relief and Nikola turned to her immediately to see how much damage John had caused.

Helen held a hand over her heart.

"Are you all right?" he asked her gently.

She didn't answer, just threw her arms around him in a tight hug.

"I've never been so afraid," she mumbled into his chest.

He sighed and held her, pressing a gentle kiss to the side of her head.

"He's gone now, Helen, you're safe," he said comfortingly.

"Oh Nikola, I'm so sorry, what he put you through…what he made us put you through," a tear brimmed in her eye.

Nikola sighed and just held her, dropping the empty pistol to the ground.

"You knew all along didn't you?" he asked softly.

"I suspected it," she whispered. "H-how did you know?"

"He tried to kill me with that liquid, it didn't work," he sighed. "Either you're a crappy chemist or it was never meant to work in the first place."

Helen laughed slightly and pulled away form his arms, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"I had to know for sure, to do that, I had to make sure you believed it as well as the others," she pulled away. "I never meant for any of this."

"James, you told him to stop you before you got too far," realization dawned on him.

"Yes," she nodded. "I had to make it looked realistic so as not to tip off John."

"What tipped you off?" he asked.

"There were several things but the final point was when I was about to inject you with that serum he…he smiled, just as the tip of the needle touched your skin. I knew it right then and there that it was him," her tear escaped. "Can you ever forgive me?"

Nikola pulled her into his arms again.

"You've done nothing wrong, Helen," he whispered to her, letting her cry on his shoulder. "It was John, he had driven himself crazy, you had nothing to do with it."

"But I did, the reason he put you in this situation was because I kissed you," her bottom lip quivered.

Nikola shook his head.

"No, what happened was because of him, Helen," he stroked away the wet streaks with his thumbs.

He noticed her ruined bodice, and the partial message written on her bosom.

"Here," he unbuttoned his shirt, and tugged it off his arms then slipped it over her shoulders and across her chest.

"Thank you," she whimpered softly.

He took her face into his hands and looked at the bruise John had left.

"Helen, I'm going to find him, and when I do I'm going to kill him," he growled, looking at her split lip and the small cut by her temple. He couldn't fathom anything that would cause anyone to bring harm to the woman.

He cupped her face gently and pressed a small soft kiss on the tender flesh of her cheekbone, soothing the ache she felt.

She enjoyed the comfort his warmth provided, how gentle and forgiving he was, despite all the pain she had put him through. He was truly remarkable.

"I think we've both deserved a drink," she said softly, taking his hand.

"N-no…not tonight, Helen…I-I should go…George must be calling up a search party by now, you kind of abducted me during an important meeting," he smiled weakly. "You should check on James and Nigel, make sure they're alright."

"What about you?" she held on to his hand tighter.

"I'll be back, I promise," he kissed the top of her hand lightly. "I just need to take a breather away from this place."

"What if John comes back?"

"I'll protect you…something that will keep him away from the Sanctuary," Nikola released her hand and stepped out of the gazebo. "I could walk you back inside if you'd like," he offered

Helen nodded.

"Please," she followed, tugging his shirt closer around her as she shivered, despite it being pleasantly warm outside.

They walked in silence until they reached the veranda, under the shelter of the walls of her home.

They stopped, and for a long moment they just stared at each other. Suddenly Helen leant in, capturing him in a short sweet kiss.

"Thank you," she whispered slightly.

"I-I should go," he was flustered, and he stepped away from her.

"Stay, Nikola, please," she begged.

He shook his head.

"No, I can't, not right now," he sighed. "Goodnight Helen, till we meet again."

Helen watched him leave; it pained her to see him go, once again.

Once he was gone she found Nigel and James, relatively unharmed, except for some bumps and bruises.

None of them wanted to sleep, so they sat on the sofa in the study, in silence, and passed around glass after glass of brandy. None of them wanted to speak of the recent revelation, no one wanted to think of the past few days, they all just wanted to forget.

Especially Helen.

~~~~Author's Notes~~~~

Sorry no Nikola and Helen romance, but i did add a kiss for you guys, because you have been so good :) They're is going to be a lot of repair work for Nikola and Helen to do before they become the slightly dysfunctional lovable pair they are now, means a few years of distrust...but for those who follow the Life-Long series if we were to go AU this is where the Life-Long timeline would come in not directly but somewhere near here. Unfortunately the Life-Long series is an AU story, and i'm trying to keep this story as un-AU as possible. Though Damian Kindler's baffling inaccuracy is making that very hard to do! But enjoy it, Read and Review. Hopefully i can resolve the other cliffhangers for Seasick and V&B then get back to this one as soon as i can...not to concerned with Niko: The Magnetic Opera though...no demands to finish that one...

BTW...Troublemakers is not finshed...not yet, I promise...I'm thinking of taking this all the way up to his "death" so there will be plenty more chapters to come in the future. It's just taking a backseat on the priority list. First up is Seasick, because i left it on an evil cliffhanger, then Vamp and Botanist because i have made you guys wait so long for even a semblance of an update. Then i'll be back on this one. :)