A/N: I have no idea how I originally planned on finishing this fic and I have no idea why I didn't just finish it but I took the notes I still had saved and tried to wrap it up a bit. I'm hopefully going to try and revisit some of my unfinished Sanctuary fics

"Ma'am?"

Helen blinked rapidly, her focus returning to young man taking her statement. Her mind had drifted and she couldn't recall when she had stopped listening to what he said.

"Apologies."

"Not to worry, Ma'am. I asked if you had any other pertinent information you may want to share about your experience."

"No, that's it."

Helen was doing her best not to think about what had happened and she very much did want to talk about it with a random American sailor who looked like he was barely 18 years old. She pulled the blanket she had wrapped around her shoulders tighter against herself.

"I just need your name."

"Helen Magnus."

"And your date of birth-"

"Helen! There you are!"

Helen sighed in relief as Molly Brown came up behind her, gently placing a hand on her lower back. The young man seemed a bit flustered, seemingly forgetting he didn't get an answer to his question as he nodded to them both and moved to another passenger. Molly turned Helen around to look her over properly, rubbing her arms affectionately.

"You'll catch your death if you stay out here much longer. Do you know anyone here in the city?"

Her mind immediately wandered to Nikola who had spent many of the previous years in the city. She knew she could call him but they had left things on complicated terms the last time she saw the vampire and she wasn't sure she could handle any additional emotional conflict at the moment.

Instead she had Molly bring her to the New York Sanctuary.

The woman didn't question Helen at all as they walked up the huge building, nor when the occupants opened the door and seemed to trip over themselves in shock.

"Dr. Magnus! We were not aware you were visiting. I am so sorry that we are so unprepared."

"It's okay, Suzette. I just need a place to stay for a few days before I can book passage back to London."

"O-of course!"

Helen smiled to the clearly flustered young woman before turning to Molly.

"Thank you for everything, Molly. I will be just fine now."

Molly didn't move as she eyed Helen suspiciously. She was too smart of a woman to not pick up on the fact that there was way more to both the building they were currently standing in and the apparent enigma that was Helen Magnus. She crossed her arms defiantly.

"I don't need to know what's going on here but I'm not leaving you alone."

"Don't be ridiculous, I've already imposed so much-"

"Hush up, Helen. I'm not leaving."

"Yes, you are."

"You'll have to drag me out of here yourself."

"Molly-"

"Doctor Helen."

Helen felt irritated. Not that Molly wanted to stay because the last thing she wanted to be was alone right now, but because she was just so tired. She didn't think she had the energy to keep her many secrets.

"If I may interject? We have plenty of guest rooms and could set your guest up in the room next to yours."

"No."

"Yes, that would be lovely."

Helen tried to glare at Molly but she knew it wasn't very convincing.

"Fine."

"Great! Lead the way!"

Suzette made eye contact with Helen with a knowing look and carefully led them to the bedrooms while carefully avoiding any abnormal interactions. They got to the rooms and Helen assured Molly she would be fine for the night, carefully entering her room and locking the door behind her.

The room was comforting in its familiarity. She carefully shed her wet and dirty clothes and pulled on a pair of cotton pajamas. A bottle of wine caught her eye from the nightstand by the bed and she picked it up. It was empty but there was a small note attached to it;

"Glad you aren't dead."

Helen laughed quietly, rubbing her thumb over the familiar handwriting. She felt a chill run through her body as she carefully climbed into the bed, nestling deep into the warmth of blankets and pillows.

Molly considered herself to be a pretty well-informed woman but whatever Doctor Helen Magnus was involved in was so far beyond anything she ever thought she knew. She settled in the perfectly average guest room, taking a moment for the first time since the sinking to actually process all that had happened.

She shuddered as she pictured the dozens of frozen bodies, staring lifelessly at them as they searched for survivors. If she had only convinced them to go back sooner. No. She couldn't think like that. There was no changing what had happened and she would go crazy with guilt if she didn't work on forgiving herself.

As she went to close the curtains she noticed a man standing on the street outside, partially illuminated by a nearby street lamp. At first she thought he was looking at her but then she noticed his gaze was focused on the window next to hers. Helen.

He wore a hat and suit and Molly thought he may be a reporter. They were like vultures, all clamoring to get the most headline grabbing stories. The way he stood, though. Perhaps he wasn't a reporter. Maybe he was something more to her new friend.

Helen let Molly coddle her for two days after arriving at the New York Sanctuary. Today she needed her own space though. She had asked Molly to get them something interesting for lunch and she had told Helen that she was going to find something the good doctor had never eaten before. It had become a sort of game for the pair; Molly would name a food or place and Helen would tell a story about her experience with it.

Now Helen sat in a chair near the fireplace. She was trying to read a book but found herself skimming over the same page over and over again. She was shivering again. No matter how hot the fire was or how many blankets she covered up with there were periods of time where she just could not get warm.

The medical doctor in her wondering there might actually be something physically wrong with her while another part of her argued it was a physiological problem. There was a knock on her door and Helen looked up with a smile, interested to see what Mollly had managed to find.

But it wasn't Molly.

James stood in the door. His clothes were filthy and the bags under his eyes suggested he hadn't slept in days. The smile faltered from her face as she stood, her book falling to the ground. She was so relieved to see him. But she had been so horrible to him.

"James, I'm so sorry. I-"

She looked to the ground as she spoke, her words getting cut off as he crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against his chest. She melted into him and felt the shivering stop as he held her. She took in a shuddering breath as a sob caught in her chest. She wrapped her arms around his torso as tears streamed down her face.

After a few minutes Helen carefully pulled away, looking him over again. He moved a hand to his pocket and pulled out a British Newspaper, a headline about the Titanic screaming at her in a bold font. She closed her eyes and shook her head slightly.

"Please, I can't talk about it. Not yet."

He let the paper fall to the ground, taking both of her hands in his.

"Then just tell me why you left?"

"James, I can't-"

"Helen, please. I think you owe me some kind of explanation."

"You don't understand. I can't. He said-"

Helen quickly covered her mouth before turning away from him.

"Helen? Helen is it him? Is it… is it John?"

She turned back to him without a word, slowly nodding her head.

"Tell me everything."