Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long since the last update. Life gets in the way and truthfully I am just a very slow writer.

Tempest in a Teapot

Chapter 36: Moving Day

Eyes closed, she felt slightly dizzy as she inhaled the salty, cool air and listened to the sounds of the waves crashing below. Mingled in were the competing cries of the seagulls that weaved in and out of the sky, diving down here and there in search of their next meal or to return to one of the multitude of nests they had built into the side of the cliff walls. Leaning against the frame of the window, she took another deep breath and reminded herself that she had done what was necessary. No point in crying over split milk… she had already done enough crying for a month in the past few days. And now she was going to have to deal with the consequences.

Three days ago, John had arrived to find her crumpled on the floor of her kitchen. She awoke to find her ashen faced, terrified lover loudly bellowing her name as he shook her body trying to revive her. It was mid-June and her little countryside cottage was proving to be far too warm for her expectant state. Helen was entering her fourth month of pregnancy and overheating would only become even more of an issue as she moved further along. It had taken her a few minutes to reorient herself to recall that she had fainted due to the heat and she had made the fatal error of admitting what had happened to John. The next thing she knew he had teleported them to his cottage, after which he had adamantly refused to take her back to her home.

Helen had tried to reason with him, promising that she would take better care in keeping her body temperature cooler and drinking more water. That failing, she had tried to appeal to his affections for her by pointing out that she, as an expectant mother, needed to be in a familiar and comforting environment. She loved her cottage and only felt at home there. She was "nesting" as all pregnant women tended to do she explained as sweetly as she possibly could while reminding herself that he was only acting this way because he was concerned about her and the baby's health.

When John refused to budge, her temper surfaced and she gave up all pretense of handling him with kid gloves. "I demand you take me home right now!" she insisted as she stomped her foot on the ground and glowered at him. "I do not appreciate being kidnapped and held against my will, Montague John Druitt! You are to take me home this instant!" His response of asking her what she would like for dinner as he strolled away resulted in her hurling a book at the back his head.

"Temper, temper," he groused back at her with a frown as he rubbed the back of his head. "You're going to upset the baby."

"Her jackass of a father has already done that," she quickly retorted back as she crossed her arms in growing anger.

"Then her sour puss of a mother should just calm down and relax," he shot back. "Take a deep breath of the fresh sea air and enjoy the scenic view." He then quickly had to dodge another book hurled his way. And another… and another as Helen let out her full rage by pelting him with as many nearby books as she could find. The very nerve of this obnoxious man she roared to herself.

When she had run out of books to throw, Helen spent the rest of the day giving him the cold shoulder, which wasn't easy to do given the fact that she couldn't get away from him. After having run through every scenario for plotting his death in her head, Helen decided to do something more productive and turned her focus back to Adam's notebook. Aside from trying to get her to eat something, which she refused by giving him an angry glare before plunging back into her notes, John was wise enough to not bother her further. She was predispositioned to having difficult pregnancies and the last thing he wanted to do was raise her blood pressure enough to cause her to collapse again.

When next Helen looked up, night was descending outside and panic struck her. "You need to take me home now. Ollie needs his dinner," she exclaimed as she quickly stood up, then immediate grabbed onto the sofa arm to prevent herself from falling. The room was spinning slightly due to her quick movement. She pushed John's hands away as he rushed over to help her. "If you cause my horse to starve to death and die I will never forgive you," she promised with a scowl marring her lovely face.

Dropping his head with a sigh, John finally relented. He knew his approach was the wrong way to accomplish his goal and he knew her well enough to know she would carry out her grudge against him should any harm come to the horse. "I have no desire to harm Ollie," he assured her. "I will take you back but something has to be done about the horse and your temporary home."

When she gave him a defiant glare, he charged on with his reasoning. "We will be leaving soon… to return back to our time. We will need to find a proper home for Ollie that meets your approval. I cannot see us taking him with us through the time portal, do you?"

The deep frown line on Helen's forehead lessened. "Soon? Has James said something to you about solving Worth's code?" she asked hopefully. She desperately wanted to be back in modern times before she entered her final trimester of pregnancy.

"No," John admitted, "but I know him well enough to know that he's close. Yesterday he had that little twinkle in his eye that he gets when he's solved or close to solving a mystery."

"It could just be due to a case he is working on," she argued as her face fell from disappointment.

Shaking his head, John countered, "He is working on a complicated case for Lestrade but that's just a distraction for him. Our conversation three weeks ago really shook him to his core. The knowledge that he dies while you, I and Tesla carry on was hard for him. Knowing that he is able to prevent his future death by solving the Worth's puzzle is pushing him past his fear. I am sure that he is close to breaking the code," John said confidently. "We need to be ready to move forward with our plan as soon as he accomplishes his part."

Helen slowly held her hand out to him. "Take me home, John. I need to take care of Ollie." He nodded and grasped her hand before teleporting them back into her living room. While she headed to the barn to see to her horse, John went into the kitchen and heated up a kettle of water. He had tea and biscuits ready for them on the patio by the time she returned.

Sinking into the chair, she gave him a small, sad smile and, ignoring the repast, silently took in the sight of her home and surrounding land. John quietly sipped his tea and allowed her the time to mourn the upcoming loss of her home and beloved horse. Helen was normally a very stoic woman who could take the punches and keep on going, but in her pregnant state her emotions were all over the place and she was less able to have her mind rule over her heart. And right now her heart lie with this home and her amiable gray, spotted horse, both of which were solid, physical refuges to which she had clung to ground herself while she struggled to meld into the past. It had been very difficult for her, as a modern woman, to be transplanted back into a time where women had little equal rights as that of a man. Druitt could come and go as he pleased but her actions were always observed and speculated about by others because she was a woman.

After a while, she looked at him and softly admitted, "I am reluctant to let this all go. I want to go home… but I want to take all of this with us." A large tear slowly fell down cheek and she gave a loud sniff as she swiped it away with the palm of her right hand.

Reaching out to take her left hand in his large one, he gave it a squeeze and nodded. "I know. I wish we could take it all with us, including James, but that's just not possible. The best we can do is to make sure that they are all provided for before our departure."

Squeezing his hand back, Helen sniffed again as another tear fell. "The baker's daughter, Yvette, wishes to marry her father's apprentice but is unable to because the boy cannot suitably provide for her according to her parents. I overheard her crying about it the last time I was in the shop. I think the boy will jump at the chance to be caretaker of this place. He will then be able to provide for Yvette and I believe the young couple will take good care of Ollie together. The land will remain in my name and James can oversee the property as my executor."

As always, Helen was trying to take care of someone less fortunate than herself. John lifted their joined hands to his lips to kiss her hand. "That sounds like a most excellent solution. Perhaps we can come back here for a family vacation later after we are settled back in the future and the child has been born?" he proposed and was rewarded with the first genuine, sweet smile from her all day.

"I would love that," she answered as her eyes misted up again. She gave his hand another affectionate squeeze before pulling it away to begin having her tea. "We can go into town tomorrow and talk to Yvette and her suitor."

"I apologize for how badly I behaved earlier today," he offered up sincerely as he dunked his biscuit into his tea. "I panicked and should not have dragged you away against your will. I will behave myself now."

"Sure you will," she retorted as she took a sip of her tea. "I would apologize for throwing the books at you earlier but we both know I'm not sorry about that." They both laughed as the tension that existed between them melted away. They both agreed to spend the night at her cottage and the next day they went into town to make the arrangements with the new caretakers. The delight of the grateful young couple helped to relieve some of the pain Helen felt in letting go of her home.

For the next two days, John popped back and forth between his home and Helen's as he moved the belongings she had chosen to take with her. Her clothing mostly fit inside her one travel bag with the rest shoved inside a canvas sack. He had been the one to insist that they take her paintings which he claimed would brighten up the seaside cottage. All except one. He left behind the barren wintery landscape that had evoked such feelings of isolation and loneliness. Montague John Druitt had already endured a century of those feelings and he wanted none of that near his child or its mother.

Helen's goodbyes with Ollie the horse were more difficult. When she flung her arms around the horse's neck and began crying, John inwardly sighed and he prayed that it would not come down to them having to drag along a horse back to the future with them. He certainly could not teleport anything as big as Ollie and there was no telling where they would end up once they crossed to the other side. Finally, she released Ollie's neck, gave one last soft stroke on his muzzle, and walked out of the barn with John trailing behind her. The newly engaged couple who would serve as caretakers of Ollie and the home were scheduled to arrive within the hour.

John found Helen waiting for him in her living room. "We'd better go," she commanded, "or else I'm liable to start crying again. Stupid baby harmones," she grumbled, causing him to laugh softly.

As he slipped his arm around her waist he looked down at the black carpet bag she clutched securely to stomach. "I don't suppose there would happen to be any Phoenix feathers in that bag," he keenly guessed. Helen shrugged and gave him a little smirk. Shaking his head, John leaned in to kiss the side of her temple before teleporting them back to the seaside cottage they would now occupy together.