Chapter 36 - My Sickness, Revisited (Part 1)
~~~~December 1880~~~~
Nikola looked at the injection mark in his arm. The sleeve was rolled up to his bicep and his other hand lightly pinched the skin so he could look at it better.
It had nearly been two hours since his injection of the sourceblood and despite the anticipation upon taking it he found the results rather disappointing.
There had been an initial rush, sort of like surprise hit to the body that had sent every nerve keeling with pain, but upon opening his eyes he had awoken to bleak normality. No change, not like it had been with Nigel, Nigel's transformation was instantaneous, even James was convinced that he could see his own changes due to the sourceblood. John laid down feeling rather ill, which was a sign that something in his physiology could be changing, but for Nikola there was nothing.
He had to admit he was infuriated and a bit disappointed.
"Nikola, squeezing it won't change the results," sighed Helen as she walked into the study, a bottle of wine in her hand. They had decided to share in the condolences as she too had been left disappointingly empty-handed.
"It's maddening," he replied. "What are the chances that you and I are the only people in the world with no latent abnormalities?"
Helen let out a huff.
"It is rather dull, isn't it?" she gracefully seated herself beside him.
"It's not just dull, it maddening, because of all people we should be the one's with extraordinary gifts, not know-it-all Watson and the cochney brat!" Nikola scowled releasing his arm.
"What were you hoping for, Nikola? The ability to control everybody's minds?" Helen laughed.
"Anything but this...this is...maddening," he leaned back on the settee and pouted.
Helen gave him a soft smile and handed him a wine glass filled with a deep red vintage.
"Here, this will perk up your spirits," she placed a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.
"I don't see why you are so calm, Helen, you, our of all of us should be the most upset, this was your experiment, at least you should've benefited from it. How can you be so...relaxed?" he looked at her with disbelief.
"I am upset, Nikola. But the experiment wasn't a failure, if anything we've made a great discovery this evening, you and I will just have to work harder to gain special abilities," she leaned down next to him, resting slightly against his arm.
Nikola looked at her and gave her a soft smile.
"Like you need any more special abilities. Your already the most intelligent and sophisticated woman in the world," he sighed.
Helen let out a small giggle.
"Your just saying that so I will give you more wine," she teased.
"Is it working?" he asked will a grin.
"Possibly," she answered cryptically and brought her own glass to her lips and sipped.
~~~~February 1895 - New York~~~~
Nikola watched with anticipation as his beloved friend, and somewhat lover, disembarked from the boat, dressed in the latest fashions, as always, and looking particularly delicious in the red gown.
He always did love her in red.
He swore she dressed like this just for him. There was a generous amount of white, creamy cleavage poking outside the front, not enough to be considered inappropriate by the victorian upper class, but just enough to be tantalizing to his wandering eye. Her long neck against the high red collar set off a striking appeal to his inner beast as well, and the matching hat barely covered her hair, leaving her flawless facial features to his viewing.
They had been planning this meeting for quite some time.
Nikola grinned as she walked off the ramp and onto the dock, a young boy, a teenager, carried her light luggage behind her. In that get up she could make the sun do loops if she had any inclination, let alone get a young hopeful to carry her bags such a meagrely short distance.
Nikola strode to meet her, catching her attention as he gracefully weaved throughout the other passengers.
"Helen...you look ravishing," he eyed her up and down appreciatively as he approached her. "Don't tell me you got all dressed up for my benefit?"
Helen rolled her eyes.
"Please, I could've worn anything and it would've been for your benefit," she sighed and he took her hand, kissing it gently.
"I'm glad you came, I was beginning to miss you, the holidays seem so long ago," he grinned, his mind flashing back to their tryst in London over his Christmas visit. It was a good thing James and Nigel were such workaholics, he had Helen mostly to himself, though he let her think she was calling the shots.
"Your not forgeting our arrangement, are you?" she eyed him and he smiled deviously.
"Heavens no," he kissed her hand again. "Our arrangement is why I asked you here in the first place, that and so you wouldn't have to waist your money on some dingy hotel."
She easily took her hand out of his grip.
"I'm also here on business, don't forget, I'm not all yours this visit," she said sternly, before turning around to the young man and handing him a coin for his troubles. "He can take them from here, my good man."
The young boy nodded and mumbled a "Thank you, ma'am," before running back to the ship.
"Now that we're alone," Nikola tugged on her arm, pulling her flush against him. "Where were we?"
He made a dive for her deliciously exposed neck, peppering it with light kisses.
"Nikola, wait...there is something I have not told you," she pushed him away.
"What?" he whined. "There is no one here to hide from."
Helen's stern expression melted into a slight blush.
"That's where you're wrong," she muttered quietly, as if trying not to be overheard.
"Helen!" called a familiar voice from ramp.
Nikola's gaze shot in the direction of the voice.
"Helen, there you are, why the devil did you get off the boat so fast?" James came jogging up behind them.
"I came to greet Nikola, didn't want him to think we'd not arrived," Helen lied easily, sharing a fleeting glance at Nikola who tried to hide the burning anger at this most unwelcome surprise.
"James and I are expanding our operations, we're looking at real estate in the hopes of acquiring a new Sanctuary. It was Father's idea, he unfortunately had to remain in London," Helen subtly tried to hint to Nikola that she was not happy with James appearance either, but they had really no other choice.
Nikola looked at her blankly for a few seconds before his brain caught up with him.
"Of course, you mentioned that in your telegram," Nikola extended a hand to his old friend. "How are you James?"
"Good," James eyed them suspiciously, his keen detective eye sensing some kind of distress between them.
"My carriage is just over here, I can take you to your hotel," Nikola said with ease, smiling at his old friends.
James relaxed slightly and smiled warmly.
"That's very generous of you, I'll go get the rest of our luggage my dear," James patted Helen's shoulder gently before walking briskly to retrieve their luggage from the docking master.
As soon as he was gone Nikola snapped his head back to Helen.
"Thank you for the warning," he scowled at her.
"I tried to tell you but you were being a tad frisky," Helen said sharply.
"Putting it in your telegram would've been a lot better, just a simple P.S. James will be arriving with me, so please keep your hands to yourself," he growled.
"It was a last minute change in plans, apparently my father still doesn't trust you...as he shoudn't," she grinned a little slyly.
He bit his lip and fumed, damn why'd she have to look so damn sexy with that smile.
"Well, this does put a bit of a hamper on my plans," he sighed.
"I only agreed to this rendezvous because I was planning to go to New York on business anyway," she explained. "You were just...a nice bonus."
Nikola huffed.
"Well, I feel used," he teased.
"Don't worry, I'll make it up to you," she whispered in his ear seductively and he instantly melted at the insinuation.
"Oh you will, will you?" he grinned.
"Tonight, my room, after dinner...James will retire up to his room for the evening after brandy, then..."
Nikola shuddered slightly. Oh she was a devilishly conniving and ingenius woman. His heart pounded slightly, like it always did around her.
Funny, it never did this around Rose. Rose was a practice run, a preparation for this woman, Helen, his Helen, by god, his younger self would be kicking himself to hear Helen speak like this to him.
"One quid for some heavy lifting, this city is outrageous," James came up to them rolling his eyes. "I can't even bear to think how much they'll ask for the building."
"Don't worry James, Father has used his connections with an old friend, the place we're looking at should be worth whatever it costs," she smiled at him.
"My, my, James, I never realized how frugal you are," Nikola teased, picking up Helen's bags as a friendly gesture, pulling out his handkerchief to wipe off the handles before gripping them in his strong hands.
"Thank you, Nikola," Helen smiled sweetly at him.
"Yes," mumbled James, "Will you be joining us for dinner tonight, old chap?"
Nikola smirked slightly.
"I actually thought I might, if the lady permits," he chanced a gaze in Helen's direction to see her reaction.
"I would be delighted," she smirked back at him.
"Excellent, you can regale us on your new inventions," added James.
The group started to move off the dock and into the busy roads of the Manhattan Harbor. Piling into the carriage and taking off to the streets of downtown New York City.
~~~~December 1880~~~~
Nikola awoke from his sleep with a shiver, a sheen layer of sweat covered his body, and his hands trembled uncomfortably.
He ripped off his shirt, tearing the buttons off, but they didn't matter at the moment.
Something wasn't right.
He climbed off the bed but his legs gave out and turned to jelly. He collapsed on to the floor, landing with a particularly loud thud on the ground. The cold floor met his cheek with a dull thud, echoing inside his brain, his vision, his hearing, his senses all blurred at once then suddenly sharpened. He heard a cat mewl in the alley two blocks away as clearly as if it were three feet in front of him, a man coughed on the street below, a train whistled in the distance, each sound was so pwerful it nearly knocked him unconscious and jarred every joint in his body, grinding out painful messages he couldn't understand.
Nikola let out a muffled cry and used the bed post to hoist himself to his feet. He could hear his heart pumping loudly, so loudly, too loud. His hand, clutching the oak post suddenly morphed in front of his eyes, dark talons growing from his fingertips and slicing into the varnished wood. Nikola watched in horror, prying his hand from the post and stumbling back into the vanity, knocking a vase to the floor. The fire had gone out long ago but his eyes saw everything clearly. He fell to the floor again, clutching his head in pain.
"AGH! Make it stop!" he cried. The sound of a carriage passing by shaking his already weakened foundations.
A woman laughed and the sound was piercing, a baby cried and his stomach felt like he had just been punched in the gut. Every bone ground against the other, every vertebrae rattling as if any moment they would pop out.
He shook on the ground, convulsing and tensing and screaming. His head pounded, his heart beat, and his blood rushed, and he heard it all, smelt it all. He could smell his fear at this transformation.
The clock on the mantelpiece ticked and he jumped up from the ground and smashed it, clutching his head in pain. The wind coming from his open window rustled the curtains and he ran over tearing them from the bar and slamming the window shut and locking it.
He continued to sweat and tremble. He looked down at his hands again and they morphed into hideous claws. He whimpered and tore at the bed sheets to be rid of them. He heard James talking in his study across the Sanctuary, every word, clear as day, he could hear the way his mustache ruffled as he stroked it in thought. He heard Helen in her study, the sound of her china teacup clinking against it's saucer.
He cried out again, all the noise was unbearable.
He collapsed to his knees slithering on the floor. He tried to crawl his way to the bathroom, hoping to drown out the sounds underwater. Again he convulsed, causing him to fall to his side with a loud thud. He heard voices, so many voices, saying things he didn't understand, talking to people he didn't know but he could hear them all, a cacophony of voices and sounds, whispers and shouts, drowning his ears in noise and reverberating through every inch of him.
The long talons grew out of his fingers again and clawed aginst the rug, shredding it instantly, Nikola felt his eyes being forced open by some invisible force, tugging them to their widest, his mouth opening of it's own free will letting out a feral snarl as hit teeth grew bigger, cutting his lip, he tasted the blood, like a jolt of adrenaline, punching it's way through his tongue and down his throat. A roar like that of a wild animal escaping his lips. Then collapsing again, his hands turning back to human fingers his eyes opened in a panic.
He brought a hand to the cut on his lip, but it was gone, it was all gone like it was some kind of hallucination. He whimpered again, scrambling to the bathroom, he got to the mall basin in front of the mirror, taking the pitcher in his shaky hands and managing to pour it into the basin before dropping it to the ground and splashing the cold water on to his face.
The water seemed to settle him for a brief moment. He panted, his hands bracing themselves on the counter holding him up.
His heart still pounded but it's volume had decreased significantly. He breathed, trying to still the panic in his chest.
He looked at himself in the mirror. He was pale, ghostly pale, with dark rings around his eyes, there was a dribble of blood on his chin now diluded and dripping off in big pink droplets but there was not cut, his hands were normal, his face was normal, everything was normal, but oh so wrong.
He sucked in another breath, sputtering the remaining water, then bringing a hand up to scrub it over his wet face. He has had strange attacks before but never like this, he used to have them all the time as a child, his mother used to sing to him when they would happen. The first one happened on the evening of the day his brother Dane had died, he could remember his mothers frightened tears as he shook uncontrollably in her arms that night. His father prayed silently in the corner, believing that his son had become host to a powerful demon, and his sisters watched from the doorway holding candles. He could still hear his mother's voice singing softly to him.
Still, it had never been this bad, never like this.
He looked at his hands again, turning the over, palm up, palm down, trying to piece together what had caused them to turn into such monstrous things. Was it the sourceblood? It had to be.
Suddenly he heard the sound of a drop of water hitting the floor, magnified a thousand times to hit his ears like an explosion. He cried out in pain again, then looked at his hand, watching it morph and pale, causing a shiver to crawl up his arm and into his entire body.
"NAGH!" he cried and slammed his hand into the mirror shattering the glass, the panic rising again, he desperately tried to clench his hand to control whatever transformation was happening to it, feeling it spread like a poison to the rest of him.
He again felt the invisible force, ripping a silent cry from his throat and his, and in this he managed to see himself in the shattered glass of the mirror. The sight terrified him, he flet his own blood trickling down his arm, he could smell it, coming from his palm where the black talons cut into his skin. He looked into dead eyes. He did not see himself in the mirror's reflection, he saw a monster. Black soulless eyes, long deadly fangs, cold, clammy skin...a monster...his monster.
"Wh-What is...h-happening...t-to me?" he choked out, his voice not his own, but something dark and unnatural.
He backed away from the image, his back slamming against the wall, something akin to frightful tears leaking from his eyes.
Then he heard her, softly, she was humming. A lullaby from her childhood, maybe? He got lost in the sound, closing his eyes and imagining her. Her hair let down in a cascade of blonde curls, her baby blues hidden behind lidded eyes, as she walked rhythmically to the music she was creating. He could her her soft footfalls against the hardwood floor, a small tapping, serving as percussion to her humming. Her voice was soft, she was humming to herself, she always did that when she daydreamed. He felt a weak smile break from his face, the monster slowly crawling back inside. The pain in his hand dissipated and he felt his body relax, the convulsions and trembling soothing into a dull throb. The sweat cooled off his brow and began to chill, but not even that bothered him as he listened to her. His angel. Helen. His sweet, beautiful Helen, untouched, unharmed, untainted; pure and angelic.
His eyes snapped open suddenly.
She was walking this way, no doubt to look in on him, he had been feeling under the weather for the past few days now and god knows how long he had been crawling on the floor and writhing in pain. He couldn't even remember if tis was the first time it happened.
She couldn't see him like this, it would no doubt frighten her, he had to leave, at least until this illness passed, till he returned to normal.
He pushed himself off the wall, ripping off his ruined shirt and using it to wipe off his bloody arm and sweaty torso.
Running the rest of the water across his face and wipping it dry he shoved the stained shirt underneath the stand and pulled out some fresh clothes from the armoir to change into. He didn't bother to put on a cravat or fix his hair, Helen was coming closer and he had to get out of there.
Grabbing the basin of dirty water he ran to the window and dumped out it's contents before shutting the window again and replacing the basin to it's stand. Then he searched frantically around for his bag to throw his remain clothing inside. Having found it by the desk, he gripped it tightly by the handle and threw open the armoir but was stopped by a knocking at his door.
In his panic he rushed to the bathroom, shutting himself inside. She couldn't see him like this, not right now, he was dangerous...that creature was dangerous and he could hurt her in his uncontrolled state. He would never forgive himself if he did.
He clutched the bag to his chest, panting heavily.
"Nikola?" she heard him calling for him.
He needed to get out.
He heard her come in, her steps tentative and careful. She could sense something was wrong with him. He looked down underneath the stand and saw his wet and bloody shirt, another panic rising in him. He mved quickly, trying to not make noise but the trembling in his hands was returning and he only just managed to get the shirt inside his bag and move away from the door when she came in.
Her eyes widened upon seeing him, seeing his distress.
"Nikola, what's wrong?" his head snapped to her. She was beautiful as always. He could smell her, hear her blood moving through her veins, her heartbeating in her chest. Each sound hit him in his gut.
"Nothing! It's nothing!" he said quickly, trying to control himself. He ran a hand through his damp hair.
"You look feverish, are you feeling well?" she took a step closer to him and the smells and sounds intensified. Her hand touched his and she gasped at how cold his skin was. The touch itself stirred him, he felt the monster moving inside him and he moved away sharply, moving past her quickly to his armoir to shove whatever he could into his bag. He had to get out before he hurt her, before she found out what was becoming of him and fled him.
"Are you going somewhere?" she followed him and he tensed, wishing her to leave.
"Can't stay here...for now...it's hard to explain, Helen," he swallowed dryly. "Just...just trust me, I'll be back, but I have to leave," he silently pleaded she would accept his explanation.
"Have you done something?" she stayed where she was, no doubt her eyes were on him, he could hear the concern in her voice, and the subtle way her heart picked up it's pace, she was already scared, wait till she saw the true terror behind her friend.
"No, it's nothing!" he barked at her, more desperate to get out than ever. Desperate to not have her see the monster. He was sweating, by god, he was sweating, and he wiped his forehead in a desperate to cover up that fact.
"You're sick, you shouldn't leave," she stepped closer to him. "Let's go down to the lab, James can run some tests, we can figure out what's wrong."
He moved away from her again, trying to make a desperate scramble for the door.
"No, can't do that!" his voice was high and panicky and he pleaded for her to let him go. "I just have to leave."
She moved around him and blocked his path, making him groan.
"Not until you tell me why," she said more forcively.
"I can't, I just...can't stay here right now," he pleaded, he begged for her to let him go.
"Is it me, Nikola?" she looked hurt and he felt that twinge in his heart. She thought he was abandoning her, running away from her, but no, he was protecting her, protecting her from that monster in the mirror.
"Of course not," he softened slightly. "It's not any of you, it's me. I just have to leave and I can't tell you why," he scrubbed a hand over his face but was suddenly frozen when he felt her hands on his cheeks, forcing his gaze to hers. Every muscle in him weakened. She smelt...he couldn't even describe it, it was in her blood, in her skin, in her hair, it was her. His instinct cried out to...to do something...to taste it, to possess it, to possess her.
"Please, stay," she half-whispered to him, he almost melted right there. Again he felt the monster stirring and he struggled to break away from her grip.
"I can't" he sobbed. "I need to go...please, let me go, Helen."
He whimpered and she seemed to listen to his plea.
"Stay," she wouldn't give up and his plea melted into frustration and anger, his desperation, skyrocketing. If he stayed any longer he would hurt her, he knew it, he had to get out.
She took his hand and he squirmed to try and release it. She wasn't going to make this easy for him, she never would.
"I can't bear you to leave right now, I need you," she begged and he growled in his throat.
"Stop trying to guilt me, I am not your father, NOW LET ME GO!" he shouted at her, yanking his hand out of her grip and pushing her roughly to the side and running as fast as he could to get outside, to get away, as far away as he could so he couldn't hurt her. A carriage rolled by and he hailed it, climbing quickly into it.
"Where to sir?" asked the driver.
"Any where, please, just go quickly," he said and the man nodded, no questions asked as Nikola sank into his seat and sobbed silently.
What had the sourceblood done to him?
In all his life he had never been so scared of anything...especially himself.
~~~~February 1895~~~~
Nikola awoke with a start.
At first he was disoriented, he didn't recognize the room, and for a brief moment, forgot where he was and who he was with, then he heard her sigh sleepily beside him. The moonlight shone against the length of her bare back and Nikola sighed.
It all came back to him. He grinned slightly.
He leaned down and pressed a light kiss to her shoulder.
When he sat up again he scrubbed a hand over his face. His nightmares were getting worse, so vivid, reminding him of his initial transformation to his now welcomed form. Knowledge was definitely humanities friend. Once he learned what he'd become and how to control it he saw it's benefits, to society and to his work. But that was only until he learned that he was Sanguine Vampiris, not a monster as he had originally believed.
That day had changed everything for him, set him apart from everyone and everything he had built up until then. He sensed it from the others, their mistrust of him, their fear; even Helen had held him at an arm's length. She ran to John, afraid of the monster, Nikola had run to Budapest to escape the fear, the uncertainty. Budapest allowed him to return to some state of normalcy. He worked with others, took his medication diligently, and dreamt of the day he would return to his Helen to show her the control he had gained over his powers, then everything would return to normal.
How wrong he'd been.
He got up off the bed and made his way to the hotel powder room to splash some water over his face, his mind still on his dreams.
He remembered his Christmas visit that year, a test run, he still berated himself for using her like that, but he was young, and she was all he desired at the time, she still was, but his control wasn't strong enough then and he slipped. She had tasted so good, and had done it so willingly, it was hard to regret it.
But by the time he had gained full control over himself and his powers, she had run to John's arms. He had dashed her hopes and crushed her spirits for too long and she sought the comfort she needed from him. Probably like he had planned. He had never shown his true spots to her, but he saw the maniac long before the first whore had been slaughtered.
Then, not only had he been replaced in her heart, but forgotten completely, except for as a friend. All those stolen moments in Oxford, the hopeful dreams, gone.
He blamed it on the vampire, the sickness.
He should've given up then, but he was in love. Hopelessly so.
He still was.
He looked back at her sleeping in the bed.
Two years of stolen moments, secret moments. Having her physically behind closed doors and secret meetings. Easily, he could forget her promise to another man, her distrust in his innocense at Whitechapel, and her accusing him of causing John's plight.
She was his in these moments.
He watched as she shifted in her sleep.
She was seduction incarnate, passion in it's purest form.
He thought of her more than their arrangement should allow, every second thought was graced with a reminder of a fleeting touch of her skin, the heat from her kisses, a sigh or a moan escaping from her lips under his ministrations. Their trysts over the years, though few compared to his short time with Rose, were more than he could dream for. They always managed to arrange a meeting somewhere, at her Sanctuary, at his apartment, someplace in the middle. Whenever she had frustrations she needed to get out with a rather exhilarating romp, he came at her beck' and call, ready to help. The times inbetween he would wait, patiently, occupying himself with his work, or with brandy's with friends. His good friends Robert and Katharine Johnson were always eager to distract him for an evening, especially Katharine.
Nikola smirked.
Intelligent women were much more seductive than ditty little girls looking for a man on their arm. Intelligent, independent women knew what they wanted, how long they wanted it for, and who they wanted it from. Katharine started off friendly enough, and though he would never breach such a trust with his good friend, he was still a gentleman, afterall, but he'd be lying if her attempts hadn't been...interesting.
Before Rose he hadn't even noticed all her signals, Rose had opened his eyes to the sex-driven pulse to this world. People were driven by desire, he, even more so because of his vampiric tendencies. He could smell people, hear their heart skip when an object they desired walked into the room, he was now on constant alert. But Helen was all he ever wanted, despite this advantage. Helen wanted him in a very instinctual way, while he wanted her entirely, he would never admit it to her face, but he was more in love with her now than he was before, but if he even breathed a word of deeper emotion she would leave him and he would have none of her.
He ran a hand through his messy hair.
He sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, taking his trousers off the floor, shaking the wrinkles out before sliding them on. His mind still thought about the amusing prospect of his friend Katharine. A sweet woman, intelligent, married to a romantic, a poet, old-fashioned and comfortable.
He remembered the last time he had been in her company.
Everything had been perfectly normal. She had offered him tea, gracefully moving in and out of the kitchen fetching biscuits and cream, as any good hostess would. Robert had looped him into a conversation about poetry. He always called Robert by the nickname he had given him, Luka Fillipov, it had become a bit of an inside joke between the three of them.
Robert excused himself to find a poetry book in his study to show Nikola an interesting sonnet he had come across. In this brief reprieve Katharine had all but thrown herself at him, asking him for help in the kitchen. He had gone to her aid, finding her standing on the counter, a bowl of sugar in her hand.
"I'm afraid I'm stuck," she sighed with a small smile. "Will you help me down, Nikki?"
Ever the gentleman he agreed, gently and cautiously gripping her hips to gingerly lower her to the floor. He made every effort to hold her away while she made every effort to slide the length of her entire body against him. She was tantalizingly clever.
"There you are," he decided to ignore it and smiled at her softly. "I'll take the sugar in for you."
She held the bowl away from him, causing him to have to reach for it. He laughed slightly, reaching his long arm to grab it, but then fell into her trap as her lips captured his and held him there for a tense, lustful second before he managed to pull himself away with a gasp.
"Mrs. Fillipov!" he admonished using her pet name. "What are you doing?"
She gave him a slight grin.
"Having some fun, Nikki," she teased, nipping at his earlobe lightly.
He shuddered but backed away from her.
"I can see that, but you and I both know you are a very happily married woman," he held his hands out in front of him to hold her off.
"Haven't you ever wanted to live a little, Nikki?" she asked. "I have never broken a rule in my life, and I never wanted to until I met you."
Nikola felt a tad flustered, he had never heard her speak like this, ever.
"Of course, you know what I'm talking about, Nikki. You and that actress. I saw how you two sneaked off into the dark corridors at our Christmas Party, you tried to cover it up when you returned but I knew," she teased darkly.
Nikola still resisted her.
"Me and Rose are-"
"Just friends," her grin became more devious. "Last time I checked we were just friends as well Nikki."
"But Luka..."
"Robert doesn't have to know. Just this once Nikki, one time to live on the wild side, outside of the rules," she took his hand and pressed it roughly into her petticoats, dangerously close to the apex of her thighs. "Touch me, Nikki."
Her haughty whisper was almost enough to undo his resolve.
Then the door to the kitchen swung open and Nikola had moved away from her, thankful for the interruption.
"Ah, there you are," smiled Robert, holding the book in his hands. "Found the book I was looking for, oddest place though."
Nikola chanced a sideglance over to Katharine who leered back.
"Good...I was just...helping the lady," Nikola said smoothly.
"Yes, I had foolishly climbed up on the cabinets for the sugar bowl and found myself trapped between a rock and a hard place," Nikola could feel the insinuation aimed directly at the back of his head. "Nikki here was kind enough to help me down."
"What are good friends for?" smirked Robert.
"Yes, what are good friends for?" Nikola put significant emphasis on the word friends.
"So, shall I show you the poem?" Robert gestured to the sitting room.
Nikola's growing uncomfortability made the offer rather unpleasant, it made being in this household rather awkward at this moment.
"Actually, Luka, I just remembered, I think I left the gas on in my lab, better be safe than sorry, right?" he smiled at his friend.
"Of course, wouldn't want your work to be destroyed," Robert nodded his head in understanding. "You will still join us for dinner on the 18th, right?"
"Wouldn't miss it for a lab fire, I'll see you then," Nikola darted out of the house at Lexington Avenue in Manhattan as fast as humanly possible.
Nikola found his shirt and slid his arms into it, leaving the front buttons undone. Helen shifted beside him.
"Hey," she mumbled, her eyes blinking slightly.
"Hey," he responded, finding his socks and tugging them on.
"Where are you off to?" Helen murmured sleepily.
"It's nearly three a.m, I thought I should leave before sunrise," he tugged on the other sock befre standing up to search for his shoes.
She held the covers of the bed around her body as she sat up.
"Oh, of course," she nodded. "This would be rather difficult to explain to James."
Nikola let out a dry chuckle.
"Not to mention he would not hesitate in tossing me from the balcony," teased Nikola.
"James won't do that...if anything he'll frame you for theft and find a dark cold cell in Scotland Yard for you to rot," she said nonchalantly.
"Oh, a much better outcome," he grinned finding one of his shoes and putting it on.
Helen grabbed her robe from the bedside table and covered herself quickly, flicking a match to turn the lamp on.
"I must admit I'm a little disappointed seeing you leave so soon," she said moving towards him.
Her words caused him to freeze and he looked up.
"Helen, are you asking me to stay?" he grinned cheekily.
"Not overnight...just...for a little while longer," she stepped up to him and kissed him. "I don't think I'm done with you yet."
Nikola growled in approval.
"Helen, you know I like it when you talk like that," he whispered huskily.
"I also know what else you like," she said before nipping at his ear and he let out a strained groan.
He chuckled, pressing a light kiss to her lips.
"You do, do you?" he smirked as she gripped him by the lapels of his unbuttoned shirt and dragged him over to the bed with a flirtatious giggle.
~~~~December 1880~~~~
The room screamed in his ears and he let out a cry as he covered his ears with the palm of his hands to drown out the bone rattling noise.
He had barely gotten to Oxford and inside his room at the Inn before the attack started again.
The room lay in shambles as he fought to control what was happening to him. He had clawed up the sheets, broken the vases, thrown one or more of his shirts into the fire place and flipped up and tore at the mattress in his agony.
A knock at the door, nearly shaking his bones off their joints roused him from his corner of the room.
"Sir? Is everything alright in there?" the voice of the little old landlady said through the door.
"Agh!" he groaned. "Don't disturb me!"
He slithered on the ground, still trying to drown out all the noise.
"You sound like you're in distress?" she asked.
"I'm fine! Just leave me in peace!" she shouted loudly, throwing a vase at the door. It shattered upon impact and he heard the poor woman gasp.
"Alright, sir," she scurried back down the stairs.
Nikola whimpered and flipped onto his back on the now ruined carpet. His bare chest heaved. He had torn off his clothes down to his shorts, every rustling they had made had nearly crushed him. He was hot and cold at the same time, the sweat in his body both perspiring and cooling simultaneously, leaving him in a constant shiver.
Nikola held his hands above him watching as the color drained from the finger tips down and morphing into a monster's claws. Like a wave the monster rippled through him, causing a feral snarl to escape past the brutal fangs and dead eyes, a pang in his gut as part of him wanted to run and part of him wanted to scream.
He rippled back to normal, still crying.
"S-stop! Please," he prayed in Serbian to whatever god that would listen to his pleas. "Agh! Make it stop!"
He flipped on to his stomach and scurried back into his corner.
The curtain were drawn and their bottoms shredded, feathers from the pillows lay scattered across the floor. Nikola whimpered, then sobbed, covering his head with his hands and crawling into the fetal position, continuing to mutter in his foreign language.
He heard voices.
"Ms. Magnus, I didn't know who to call...he arrived nearly four days ago looking like death itself...till last night he's been making the most frightful noises..."
"Nikola? It's Helen...let me in."
Nikola smelt her from where he was, her perfume, her hair, her blood, it was all rich and intoxicating...and he was hungry. His eyes widened and shook his head.
"Helen? No!" he cried. "Go away!"
He crawled out of his corner to find something to prop against the door but he felt suddenly light-headed.
"Nikola! What is going on in there?"
"Nothing! Just go away!" he winced before stumbling to the ground , breaking another item in the process.
He heard the handle turn and he scrambled to find his corner but he was weakened and his limbs refused to work so he managed to scramble hiself into a protective ball, whimpering the lyrics to the lullaby is mother used to sing to him, so softly it was almost unintelligible.
He heard her come in, her footfalls near ground breaking to his body.
"God, Nikola, what happened?"
Her hand touched his body, creating a rather soothing affect on him. He felt the pain and trembling dissipate underneath her warm touch.
Her voice hit her ears like the cooing of a dove, soft and genteel.
"Nikola...is there anything I can do to help?...Tell me what's wrong."
The trembling had stopped and his mind had a moment of clarity.
"I'm changing Helen, I'm changing into something and I can't stop...it's that blood, whatever it does...it's doing this to me."
She said something but it was drowned out by a ringing in his ears and a sound of a cat toppling over a trash can, and guy flipping a coin at a wench in the pub, a cough down the street, a dress ruffling as it was being pushed aside, cooked meat being ripped from it's bone, a creaking of a bed as two lovers danced upon it...
"Is your body rejecting the blood?"
He sat up and moved away from her. He could feel it happening again, she was in danger, his beloved Helen...he would hurt her...devour her...the monster would he knew it.
"I don't think so, Helen...I want you to leave, leave me now please!" the panic was rising as he clenched his fists to hold back the long freakish talons.
"Nikola, I'm here to help, let me!"
He slid even more frantically away from her. Hiding his head from her as he felt the beginnings of a transformation.
"You cannot help!" his voice was already beginning to change and he made a mad dash to his corner as if it had an invisible forcefield around it keeping her safely away from him.
She followed, getting closer. Her heartbeat sped up, her blood rushed, and he could hear it, taunting him.
"Just leave!" he shouted at her, desperately.
"I won't! Not when you're like this!"
"Please, I don't want to hurt you," he whimpered, clenching his hand even tighter, trying to stop the change.
Suddenly her soft hands held his.
He felt close she was, he pushed his face even futher into the corner, feeling the fangs extrude as her heat crawled up his skin.
"You won't" she said softly.
"How can you say that when I look like this!" he snapped his head to look at her. Fully transformed again.
He saw the fear in her eyes as she shot back, the pain of it all hitting like a bullet to the heart.
"What are you Nikola?" she gulped.
"I...I'M A MONSTER!" he roared, pushing past her and taking a desperate leap out the window.
~~~~February 1895~~~~
"Helen, you decent?" James knocked at the door and Nikola shot awake.
"Crap," he muttered.
Helen shot up moments later, clutching the covers to her chest.
They looked at each other for a brief second, noticing their naked states before Helen pushed him.
Hide," she whispered. "Just a moment, James!" she called, grabbing her robe from the floor and running to fetch her nightgown out of her suitcase and slip it on quickly. Nikola was diligent in trying to hide any evidence of his presence in this room and shove it under the bed with him.
Helen quickly ran to the bathroom grabbing a towel, dipping it in the basin and running it through her hair to dampen it before tossing it in the tub and pouring the rest of the water from the basin throughly around the the bottom of the tub before refilling the basin again and then double checking the room to make sure nothing was out of place before calming herself down and answering the door.
"James, sorry for the wait...I was in the bathroom," she welcomed him in.
"Did you sleep in?" he looked at her quizzically. "You're usually so impeccable, my dear."
"A little...Nikola managed to keep me up later than I had intended," she moved behind the separator and began to change. James turned around respectively. This was not the first time they've have a conversation in her dressing room.
"Have a few extra drinks with him, I assume," he chided her playfully.
"Only the one, but we did a lot of talking," Helen was glad she was behind the the sheen
board, or the blush on her face would've given her away instantly.
"Is he joining us?" asked James.
"No, though he said he may join us for dinner again," she lied easily, fitting herself into her dress. "James, darling, could you help me do up these straps?"
James turned around and walked over to the blinder, and as gentlemanly as possible, did up the laces on her corset.
"You sounded a bit scrambled this morning when I knocked," he changed the subject.
"Well, I wasn't expecting you so soon, I was only half-dressed, I was merely surprised," Helen fought to keep her voice even.
"At what time did Nikola leave?" James changed the subject again, she knew his routine, he always did this when he felt she wasn't being completely honest. He asked a string of unconnected questions to try and throw her off, but she was quickly becoming a master at giving him absolutely nothing to go on.
"Late," she shrugged. "Must've been close to midnight, maybe later when we finally said goodnight."
"Is the parlor even open that late?" he asked.
"I don't know, we left after the one drink to get some fresh air, the cigar smoke was going a bit to my head," she answered expertly.
"Where'd you go?" he prodded gently.
"For a walk," she answered simply. "Am I under some kind of investigation, James?"
James finished tying her corset.
"No, it's just a bad habit," he moved away so she could have some privacy to continue dressing. "Our meeting is in a half hour though, normally we'd be in the car by now," he added.
"And I apologize, I had no intention of sleeping in so late," she let out a slight huff.
He sniffed the air.
"Was Nikola in your room by any chance?" he asked.
"Why?" Helen froze slightly.
"I smell the familiar scent of an aged red, possibly Bordeux," he sniffed the air once more.
"Nikola and I, may have shared a glass or two," she sighed coming out from behind the blinder all dressed.
"Did you finish it?" he eyed her suspiciously.
"No," she rolled her eyes.
"Then where is the bottle?" he inqueried.
"Fine," she huffed like he had drawn the secret from her. She moved to the side of the bed and leaned down, gesturing for Nikola to hand her the bottle. He did so without question. "Here, only half drunk, like I said...and it was a Merlot, not a Bordeaux."
"Why were you trying to hide it from me?" James laughed, taking the bottle from her and examining it.
"I know how exceedingly brotherly you get when I drink with company in the privacy of my bed chambers, I just wanted to skip the lecture for the morning...I have a headache," she brought a hand up to her temple and rubbed it absently.
James smiled and leaned over and kissed her cheek.
"I'll save it for later, I'm just glad he didn't take advantage of you," James teased.
"It's Nikola, he would never...do something like that...you know that," Helen crossed her arms.
"I know, are you ready?" he decided to drop the matter.
"Almost, why don't you hail a cab, I'll meet you in the lobby," she suggested.
He nodded and curtly turned on his heel and left.
Nikola waited till he heard the click of the door locking before rolling out from under the bed.
"That was..." he began to say.
"Close...to close," Helen finished for him.
"This time it was not my fault, you were the one who wanted me to stay," he said defensively.
"I know," Helen sighed.
"You did excellent by the way," he smirked, yanking on his trousers before pressing a kiss to her lips.
"What? Just now, or earlier?" she looked at him inquisitively.
"Both," he answered with a sly grin.
He pressed a kiss gently against the skin of her neck, then dipping down to place an even lighter one near the peak of her cleavage.
"I'm assuming that what you said to James...about me joining you for dinner was a passing invitation for my stay tonight?" he pressed another kiss near her clavical.
"If you think you can actually make it out of here without having to sneak out with maid service," she teased.
"I think I'll manage," he chuckled. "You could always come down to 5th Avenue. Get a tour of the lab, I'm sure you'd find some of my inventions very...riveting."
Helen smirked.
"Sounds interesting...maybe I will pop by later," she grinned deviously and gave him one last teasing kiss before pushing him aside. "If I give you the spare key, will you know how to use it."
"Helen, I am a genius," he said indignantly.
She handed him the key.
"If somehow James manages to detain you," she moved to the door. "See you later, Nikola."
~~~~Author's Notes~~~~
Wow, I write alot.
Ok so this was an interesting concept, I was looking over the previous chapters and came across the Two-Part chapter segment December Sickness 1+2. Few things I noted...A...I need to fix a few things...I'll do that when I'm back to home base, no worries! And B: It would be really interesting to see Nikola's point of view of the whole transformation. So that was really the starting platform to this segment. So important things to note, in real time it 1895, two years into Nikola and Helen's FWB arrangement. As mentioned in the fic, although it's been two years they haven't met up a lot in that time, a few trysts at christmas, a romantic rendezvous in a little Inn possibly to blow off some steam. This is the first real sort of "planned" thing that they've decided to do.
Nikola is starting to fall in love again, as you can tell, which is why he's having nightmares...that'll make more sense later, promise.
Little thing about that whole little story about the Johnson's, i fell like i must explain myself before all the history buff's come knocking at my PM going, dude, Katharine Johnson ain't like that...I detest you making her into some kind of desperate housewife...but if you'll just let me explain. I read this story...it was about Tesla...the real Tesla...though the author did mention something about him being a vampire..I snickered. It's called The Invention of Everything Else, it's quite accurate despite the supporting characters around it are fictionalized, but there was this one part with Nikola and Katharine Johnson (yes she is a real person, I did my homework) and in reading it I just got this sense of something between them that was more...or there was a desire for more but neither would make the move because of Robert...a silly impression I know but I just had to play with it...it's so fun. I looked her up, hoping to get some more information on her...so what you see is what I got...there wasn't much. So hopefully you enjoy it.
Oh the whole thing, another idea I kind of twisted from the real guy's life, he had this condition where he thought he heard sounds amplified...it all surrounded the idea of radio waves...I have no idea what it's called...but I decided to twist that and make it into a symptom...quite proud of myself for that :P But if you look it up he actually believed he could hear a train whistle from far away and that it rattled his entire body...the guy was nuts...guess we're the squirrels (ha ha).
Alright...I should go to bed now but leave me some reviews and I may give you more answers :P or more questions...maybe i'll just give you a nice Nikola-coated headache...(take two aspirin, down it with some Chardonnay and have a Nikola cookie you'll be fine).