Well, this is kinda awkward... Every time someone leaves a review, I feel bad because I know this hadn't had a proper end, but I had an epilogue that I wrote the same day I wrote the beginning. So, a friend told me, perhaps I should just post that as the end.

I went through my files and decided to publish them. Only to find I had this file sitting on my computer since October 12, 2020. it just needed a couple of twitches and fixes and well, here it is.

If life helps, you guys might see the epilogue following soon.

Enjoy!

M.

PS: If it sucks, be nice.

July 28th, 2005

As Helen predicted, the four O'Neills were already at breakfast when they came down from their room. She greeted them, and they asked Will and her to join them at the table.

"You know, dear. I never fell asleep in a car before, and yesterday it happened twice." Anne O'Neill said, looking at Helen carefully. "Even our children fell asleep. It's bizarre."

"And then, there's all that fuss about not mentioning you and Nikola are Samantha's parents?" Jerome O'Neill prodded.

"Ah," Helen let out. "I can explain both." She said, taking a sip of her tea. "As Samantha told you yesterday, the why we asked you not to mention Nikola and I are Samantha's parents are simple… Besides the people who were at the ceremony, no one else knows someone kidnapped Samantha as a baby and that is how she ended up being adopted by the Carters."

"Kidnapped?"

"Yes." Helen nodded, giving them a bittersweet smile. "She was barely a baby when my ex-fiancé kidnapped her, thinking it was his daughter. He was a very sick man, and… Well, he gave Samantha away to the Carters. I searched for her and it wasn't until recently we found each other again."

"Oh, you poor thing!" Anne said, placing a hand over Helen's. "I can't imagine what it feels like to lose a child."

"It's devastating. Getting her back was… More than I could've hoped for."

The Carter kids rushed past their table then, followed by two still half-asleep parents. They sat at the table next to them, so Helen exchanged a glance with Will.

"So, did you enjoy the sleep in the cars? It's Nikola's best invention so far." Will said loud enough, noticing the Carters were also listening.

"Invention?" Jerome asked.

"Yes, there's a sleeping program inside the car. It's a new technology we are going to produce for public consumption soon. It helps when the route is long. The only unaffected ones are the driver as long as they keep driving. It's paired out with a self-driving car, to avoid any accidents in case the driver feels its effects." Helen grinned.

"It's something almost out of a sci-fi movie," Will nodded beside her. "It's not harmful, don't worry. Otherwise, we wouldn't use it ourselves. Right, honey?" He asked, pecking Helen's cheek.

"No, not at all."

"So, you drugged us?" Mark Carter asked loudly from the other table.

"Theoretically… The SUV induced your sleep." Helen answered. Mark rolled his eyes, noticing there were far more similarities between his sister and Helen Magnus than the obvious ones.

"Wait? Did you risk our lives? You used us for testing?" His wife added.

"Never. As I've said. We used it before. It's safe. Even for pregnant ladies like myself." Helen said.

"You? Are you pregnant?" Anne trailed, wondering again how old she could be.

"Yes. It was quite unexpected. Wasn't it, darling?"

"Completely. Please don't tell anyone. We haven't disclosed that yet to the entire family." Will asked pleadingly.

"Samantha and Ashley know, but we asked them not to share it with anyone until I'm further along," Helen smiled.

"We don't want to jinx it. You know, high-risk pregnancy due to age and all." Will grinned.

"And yet, you told us …"

"Yes. I want you to understand we meant no harm when we did what we did. We want you all to feel part of our family as much as you can." Helen added.

"This sounds straight, like a coverup." Johnny O'Neill said, squinting. His eyes set on Helen, who leaned in almost conspiratorially.

"What would you say if I told you I run an underground facility where people with skills like superheroes, lives hidden from humans? That I'm two hundred and seventy-five years old and Nikola is a hundred years younger than me. Together, we are very good at creating and developing things. Ashley can teleport herself from wherever she is to wherever she wants, and Will has a keen vision of the world." Helen said seriously, taking a sip of her tea.

"That we wanted you in the party, but flying you in and out would be too much of a hustle. So, we then drugged you, because it was easier to do it and have Ashley drop you in and out of places than to explain her skills. And the reason Sam looks so young is that she's a part vampire like her dad and I are."

"Oh, and the Foss are werewolves," Will added as Helen nodded beside him.

"We had to plot all that because we didn't want you to fear us, and we still had to get permission to disclose our truth from the Council that makes the underground world we like to call home." Helen finished.

The O'Neill and Carters looked at her, stunned, as they disclosed this in such a serious way that they couldn't believe they weren't lying. Yet, what they had told them was preposterous and straight out of a comic book.

"You both have a great imagination. I'll give you that." Breanna shook her head, an amused smile tugging at her lips.

"I guess we do," Helen added, then chuckled.

The guest across two tables laughed, and even when they had noticed the strange behavior of their cellphones, it was easier to believe that a car drugged them than everything else the woman had said.

When Will winked at her, Helen knew they all had believed their lie because it was less strange than their truth. Most people weren't ready to have such a thing confirmed, and family or not… The Carters and O'Neill's were part of those.

Later that day, the Carters and O'Neills were escorted into a private hangar. Jack and Sam joined them. After a quick goodbye, their relatives walked inside a plane. With them gone, it was time for Ashley to teleport Sam and Jack to a villa in France for the few days they had of honeymoon.

August 27th, 2005

Underground Sanctuary

Helen stirred up in bed and smiled. She was turning two-hundred and seventy-six years old and she couldn't feel more excited. It was a weird feeling for her, having had so many birthdays before, that this one brought special joy to her heart.

She noticed then her bed was empty and frowned. Soon there was a throat being cleared. She looked towards where the sound came from and found William with a tray in his hands.

"Breakfast in bed for the birthday girl." Will grinned, lowering the tray near her and planting a sweet kiss on her lips.

"And where pray tell, is that girl you are speaking of, William?" She joked, her eyes twinkling in merriment. She hadn't had breakfast in bed for her birthday since Ashley entered her teenage years.

"It's the one carrying my baby girl," he said lovingly. She laughed. He had been so set up on their kid being a girl that she had let a breath out when they finally confirmed it. "Hey, don't look at me like that! I know you wanted me to be right, too."

"Seriously, William. I would have taken either. I was beyond myself knowing she would be half yours; what more could I have possibly asked for?"

He kissed her deeply. He was trying to convey what words couldn't express. When they came up for air, he smiled.

"Now, you need to eat. Then we need you to get ready. I've heard there's a ton of people coming to visit."

"Please tell me you didn't," Helen sighed.

"I didn't do a thing. It's not my fault your birthday this year fell on a Saturday, or that you know so many people! Nor have I anything to do with those Magnus traits that went to your daughters. Which I will love ours to have too, mind you." He grinned.

"Do you at least know what they are planning?"

"Dinner, I think. They didn't let me that much into the plans because there's no doctor-patient confidentiality and they thought I wouldn't be able to keep it from you."

"I don't know where they get those ideas from," she grinned.

"I know, right? I'm so good at keeping things from you…" He joked, and she pulled him for a quick kiss.

The morning went by fast. Helen's day consisted mostly of working in between congratulations from everyone who knew it was her birthday. In times like this, she understood exactly how many people she knew, and how much some people still meant to her.

Nikola had shown up at some point, and they had their special celebration. As on every birthday of theirs since they had met and became 'the five,' they sat in her office. They both had a cup of tea with a piece of cake, and three empty seats surrounded them, a reminisce of the past they both had lost and wouldn't ever recover. With each passing year, their little celebration of theirs became more sobering. Showing them how much exactly they went through, and how much more they would go through as the pictures of her family and the one family he thought they both had lost joined their empty table.

They drank in silence, both knowing exactly where the other's thoughts were. Once they were done, life continued as usual. They wouldn't have it any other way.

"I'll catch you all this evening."

"All? God, Nikola. Do you know how big they've made it?" Helen asked, a worried look on her face.

"Relax, Helen. It will be just family. Your daughters… They know you." Helen took a deep breath and nodded.

That night, she entered the dining room where 'just family' took way more space than it used to. Sam and Ashley were talking non-stop, sharing some stories with Cassie, Janet, Kate, and even Erika. To the side, Jack, Daniel, Jacob, and Teal'c tasted wine under the watchful eyes of Nikola, which, to be honest, looked like he forced them into it. While Henry and Will were keeping Henry's son entertained.

They all turned around when she entered, shouting 'Happy birthday' as they approached her to greet her properly. Dinner went by without issues. It amazed her just how much her life had changed in the past few years, and how much hadn't changed at all. She looked around the table as her hand fell over her belly. She grinned. So much more was about to change, and she could hardly wait.

"Well, I have an announcement to make," Sam said after a while. The abnormals around the table smiled at her. "I'm getting back to the SGC starting next week."

"Oh, Samantha, those are wonderful news!" Helen said quickly, covering the half-disappointed sigh coming from Ashley. "Let us know if you need help with anything."

"Well, I will need to set the transport bay back in our home in Colorado," Sam grinned. "We still kinda have to agree on what we are doing for home, but they set my new orders."

"Also," Jack continued. Ashley took a deep breath, hoping they would say what all the humans wanted them to say, but the abnormals knew that was not happening. There was no scent change coming from Sam… yet. "Doc, if you both agree, we want Ashley to join SG-1 on a full basis." Ashley blinked, surprised by this.

"It's not me who you need to ask, General." Helen smiled, looking at Ashley.

"Yeah, I kinda need your approval, too, Doc. SG-1 new leader does not know about Ashley. Or Sam's skills, for that matter. God, the kid doesn't even know Sam's my wife!"

"He's a good man," Daniel said.

"Very well, then. I'll need his name to grant him permission. If you both agree, Samantha and Ashley. It's your identities at risk there."

"Really?" Ashley's eyes twinkled with excitement.

"Whatever makes you happy, Ashley. You know that" Helen nodded.

"Mom! You are the best!"

"Yeah, I would like to make an announcement too," Daniel said. He grinned as all the present turned towards him. "Well, I dared to ask Janet to marry me," he said, looking at her. "And surprisingly, she said yes."

A round of congratulations went through again, and Helen smiled, looking around as the room fell silent again.

"Well, since we are all in a sharing mood," Helen grinned. Will looked at her, surprised. He didn't know she would do it! "I want to confirm the next Magnus will be known as Jessica Zimmerman."

"Yes!" Ashley pumped her fist in the air. "I knew it was a girl! You owe me a hundred Sam." Jack frowned.

"Wait, Doc... you mean?"

"Yes, Jack. My mom's pregnant. She's been for a long while now. Right, mom?"

"About to start week seventeen," Helen said.

"And you didn't tell me?" Jack asked Sam, sounding a bit hurt.

"We didn't know… technically." Sam grinned, tapping the side of her nose to make Jack understand.

"Technically?" Janet asked.

"Oh, trust me, Janet! You don't want to know," Jack said, blushing. Making all the abnormal laugh.

August 27th, 2005

O'Neill's Underground Cabin

"So, you are telling me they would know if you are pregnant, even before I do, and they won't say a word about it?" Jack asked as they made themselves comfortable in their bed.

"Yup."

"And you are okay with that?"

"My mom probably will let me know or ask to do some tests. But I'm sure she won't say anything else, just like we didn't." Sam said, cuddling up to him.

"I don't get it. If they knew that all of you knew all this time, why she didn't just say it?" Jack wondered.

"You know how people don't want to say they are pregnant before the first trimester because of the fear of miscarriage?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Jack frowned. "I thought you couldn't, or that your abnormal things would have made it impossible for you to lose a baby or something."

"Oh, yeah. It will, but not until the first trimester is over, or when the baby reaches a certain development. Before that, if something happens that would need to get us into a dead sleep, it's the mother's life over the child, and there's nothing we can do to stop it."

"That sounds terrible."

"Yeah, but if we decide we want to try, I'll stay away from trouble. I'll get myself out of the gate traveling no matter how I know it will be hard to watch them all go. But I trust they will take good care of my sister."

"Like one of their own. Speaking of which… I think I've come up with a way to make her a private contractor, like Daniel and Teal'c. So you don't have to risk the Sanctuary entrance every time she joins you."

"You have?"

"Yup. Only if you want her there and she wants to be there. You heard your mom. She'll take it if it makes you and Ash happy and I'd do the same… for you."

"I can think of anything against it. She's quite helpful in getting us out of sticky situations. Sometimes I wish it wouldn't be so hard to explain so it would be easier for us to do our things without having to knock out our people first." She added, remembering how they had to hit SG-5 unconscious before they could go full abnormal to free all of them from a prison cell. It was far easier now that she controlled her power a lot better, and healing wasn't taking her so long anymore.

"We can always tell them you are Wonder Woman and Supergirl." Jack chuckled.

November 15th, 2005

Helen's office

Sam and Jack entered Helen's office. It wasn't surprising to find them there anymore, but the 'we're-here-on-business' expression made Helen squint at them for a second. She took a whiff, just in case, but she smelled nothing different from her daughter. So, no… whatever they were coming to tell her, it wasn't the announcement that she was about to become a grandma.

"Samantha, General."

"Are you ever going to call me Jack, Doc?" He rolled his eyes.

"Will you ever call me Helen and not Doc, General?" Helen answered, her eyebrow raised and the corner of her lip twitching with amusement. Sam just snorted. "Feel free to make yourselves some coffee and get comfortable while I finish here."

They disappeared towards the little space in her office that held her coffee/tea spot and got their coffees ready. By the time they returned to the sitting area of Helen's office, Magnus was finishing her documents and standing up to join them.

"Mom, we kinda have an offering for Ashley."

"If the offer is for Ashley, then why are you here?" Helen inquired, taking a sip of the tea Sam got for her.

"We want to be sure you are on board with this, too. It will compromise your other daughter, and we know she's been helping you a lot with the Sanctuary." Sam smiled. She wrung her hands nervously. After all, the last thing she wanted was to distraught her mother.

"Let me be clear. If the proposal is for Ashley, then it must be her choice. I have nothing to do with whatever she wants for her future. I've prepared her for whatever she believes is the right thing to do with her life. Shall I call her?"

"Please," Sam smiled. Helen walked to the desk, picked up her radio, and called Ashley. It was a blink of an eye before her daughter teleported inside her office.

"Sam! Jack! What are you doing here so early? It's not dinnertime yet."

"Ah, we have a proposal," Jack said after stealing a glance from Sam, who nodded subtly to allow him to be the bringer of the news.

"A proposal?" Ashley frowned.

"Yes."

"Let's hear it."

She sat next to Helen, her eyes fixed on the couple as she raised her leg on the coffee table, only to gain a grunt from her mother before she lowered them again.

"Well… Jack… He found a loophole, so if you are interested… We can make you… well, he can make you a private contractor for the SGC. You would get a permanent position at SG-1."

"How would that work? I mean… would I need to be there 24/7?" Ashley frowned.

"No. We would forward you the SG-1's roster." Jack said.

"We would expect you to be there for briefings. Those usually happen the day before the mission and an hour or two before we leave. When we come back, you would take part in debriefing, and then you can come back."

"Mom?" Ashley asked, turning towards Helen.

"Sounds like an opportunity you would want to take, Ashley. I know you love it when you can join them. This would only be a more permanent arrangement."

"What about the Sanctuary?" Ashley frowned with concern.

"Ashley, darling, we have been fine for hundreds of years before you were born. I'm quite certain we can survive a couple of days without you. Taking their offer means you will use their gate, and that will reduce the chances of someone finding out about ours by mistake." Helen pointed out.

"So… you… won't you…" Ashley said, not quite knowing how to voice her concerns.

"It's your life. You are in perfect control of yourself and your skills. You've been going with them for a while, too. So, it's completely up to you. I won't keep you in a cage. You have a right to make your own choices and live your life as you see fit."

"What about you, sis? How would you feel to have me there all the time?"

"I think it will be awesome, Ash. We can't keep the fate of the world in the hands of just mere mortals, can we?" Sam joked.

"Then… yes! I would love to."

"Great! It's set then. I'll make paperwork happen and we can start to think…" Jack stood up only to be tackled to the couch again.

"Thank you!"

"Ash! He needs to be alive to make it!"

"Right, right…" she said, standing up, pulling Jack up, and then fixing his clothes. "

February 6th, 2006

E0P-92X

"I can't believe we could be late!" Ashley huffed as she teleported SG-1 back to the gate.

"Relax, sis. We might be just in time..." Sam grinned as she started dialing back to Earth.

"Don't relax, sis me, Samantha! We don't even know what the hell is going on!" Ashley rolled her eyes.

"We both know what might've happened, Ash."

Landry had called them an hour earlier when Jack asked him to recall SG-1 under the guise of an emergency that required Ashley's presence on Earth. Since it was just a recon mission, they had no issues getting SG-1 back early.

Sam had called Jack the moment they reached the infirmary, and he informed her Helen was in labor. Between their medicals and briefing, it was almost two hours later when they finally stepped out of the SGC. Since they couldn't exactly teleport out from the SGC, both Sam and Ashley sped their way back to Sam's home.

The door to Sam's home wasn't even fully closed when Ashley teleported them to the Sanctuary. Jack was there chuckling at a pacing William.

"Did we miss it?" Ashley asked.

"No… She's still in labor."

"What are you doing out here?" Sam asked.

"Oh, Doc kicked him out. She said he was mothering her, and she didn't need a mother then." Jack grinned, barely keeping the laughter out of his voice.

"Sounds like mom." Ashley snorted before she focuses on Nikola that came out of the room then.

"William, Helen says you might return if you will stay out of the way." Nikola grinned mischievously, "And if you won't faint at the blood."

"I've never…"

"Just go inside," Nikola rolled his eyes.

It was another couple of hours before Jessica Zimmerman was placed in Helen's arms and the troupe outside the room was allowed inside. They all had fussed over the baby, trying to figure out who she looked like.

Another half an hour passed by until Helen found herself alone. Nikola knocked on her door and entered the room with a saddened look on his face. She looked up at him and he shook his head no. She took a deep breath and passed her finger softly through Jess' chubby cheeks.

"I'm sorry," Nikola whispered, repeating Helen's action on the rosy skin of the babe.

"Don't be. We were aware it might happen."

"Still… One day... You'll lose her."

"One day, Niko. Until then, I'll get to enjoy her for as long as she exists."

"Unless…" he trailed.

"What?"

"I've synthesized something… It won't be pure untainted blood, but it should prolong any mortal's life."

"What if they have abnormal traits?"

"They will remain a trait. It's just your… it would pass our… longevity. I thought…" He sighed. "I thought about it… in case… well… this happened. Besides, I'm getting rather fond of your fiancé." Helen chuckled at him then, to cover the tears that formed in her eyes and the lump that menaced to block her throat. The meaningful look in his eyes told her he did it for her. To spare her from another loss.

"Right."

"He knows about our little… need… right?"

"Of course."

"And?"

"He said he must experience that once before he can decide what he feels about us… fornicating to survive." Nikola scoffed.

"Why must you put it in such a crass way?" She just laughed at him.

"You can be such an adorable guy, Niko. Now… be a dear and fetch William for me? I want to move back to my room, and I won't go all the way across, flaunting my derriere."

"I can take you both in a jiffy, and we all know, no one will complain about you flaunting your derriere."

"I would." Ashley grinned as she entered. "I thought you might want to head to your room."

"Yes! Please. This bed is uncomfortable."

"I'll take her first, and then I'll come back for the two of you." She said before she disappeared out of the room.

It was a day later when Will was still lingering too damn close to her and mothering her as if she was Jessica and not a two-hundred-year-old woman, that she had finally lost it.

"William, I swear to God, if you don't stop this, I'm going to rip your head and give it to Nikola." She hissed. Will stopped dead in his tracks and turned to watch her. "I'm no invalid. You already know that I am perfectly healthy. I don't need the rest you seem to believe I need. I need to work and go on because no matter how much I don't want to, life goes on."

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize…" He trailed off. Sometimes, for being someone with such an ease to find the odd things out, he was very dense. The truth was, he worried about Helen and Jess. All he wanted was to spend all his waking moments with them because he just knew his days were limited. He might not enjoy hundreds of years of growing old beside her.

She sighed. She might not have the cunning vision Watson and Will shared, but she had learned to read people through hard experiences, and empathy was a thing she had way before she had become abnormal.

"I'm sorry; I understand you more than anyone around here, and I know how unforgiving life can be." She smiled sadly, noticing with ease why he was behaving like that.

He avoided her eyes and focused on the small crib that was still part of their room. Even if Jess had a room just on the other side of their wall. She walked to him, stopping behind his back. He sighed, closing his eyes and feeling as his body leaned backward finding her warmth. Her arms snaked around his form and she lowered her chin on his shoulder. Helen took a deep breath, letting out a sigh.

"Nikola…" she started and bit her lower lip

"He needs you? Now?" Will wondered. His hand finds his heart. It was painful for him to know that no matter how much he didn't like to share her. He should share her with Nikola of all men if only to keep him alive and stop him from going on a murderous rampage.

"No, there are years before that happens again." Magnus chuckled, placing a soft kiss on his neck. "He came up with an offering, Will." She forced him to turn around and face her. Her eyes found him, and she couldn't help but peck his lips. "He synthesized something from a mix of our blood. It's …"

"We spoke about this, Helen," Will grimaced. No matter how much he wanted to live a never-ending life besides Helen, he had accepted his fate. He was going to die way sooner than she would. She bit her lower lip.

"Hush! Just listen to the offering. This thing he synthesized will only help you live longer. It won't give you new abnormalities."

"I… I can't, Helen…." He said. She closed her eyes and sighed. Helen knew he was terrified of the idea of suffering the same fate she had. Seeing everyone he cared about wither away while he remained the same. If she was honest, it wasn't a fate she would push into anyone, but she would gladly share it with him if he wanted to.

"I know, Will. It's just an offering. It will be there tomorrow or twenty years from now if by then you change your mind."

"I won't."

"Okay. I won't press for it either." She pecked at his lips. "Now, I'm heading to my office. Do you want me to take Jessica with me, or are you going to spoil her rotten for longer?"

"Are you even doubting about it?"

"No. I love you, William."

August 27th, 2011

Underground Sanctuary.

If someone had told Helen that the day she turned two-hundred and eighty-two years old, she would have her three daughters, a fiancé that wasn't pressuring her to get married, a son-in-law, the adopted father of her daughter and Nikola, all sharing dinner amicably for her birthday, she would've laughed.

It painted a preposterous idea. But weirder things had happened in her life. Like not aging or time travel. And finding her long-lost daughter on a sewer. Or retrieving her dead daughter from the confines of her protection wall. Or maybe falling in love with William took the prize.

She looked around the table and smiled. Her family was so far beyond normal that it was ludicrous to even think of such a term around them. They would never be 'normal' after all.

Jess and the Foss kids were running around the dining room. Somehow, the little Jackson kid was still asleep in his baby cart. The table was loud, filled with people she loved and that she knew at some point she was going to lose.

She eyed Daniel and Janet, talking to Jack and Sam. Both men had their arms draped around their wives. Will was speaking with Jacob. Those two had become the weirdest pair of friends. Nikola was keeping Teal'c entertained, or maybe it was the other way around. The alien had his share of long life and listening to his stories was entertaining for them both. Henry and Erika were talking with Kate.

There were still missing people, and she knew that was part of her life. She wondered what her father would've thought seeing them now. Humans, abnormal, and aliens mix up nicely.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Ashley asked, finding her too enthralled with her thoughts.

"I'm just feeling very appreciative of the past few years," Helen said.

"They were good years, mom. I love you," Ashley said, pecking her cheek. "I'm glad you could help me."

Helen just gulped. The idea of not being able to save Ashley was too painful to be worth of mulling over.

"So, when do you think they'll let us know?" Ashley grinned, looking towards her sister.

"Soon, I think."

"But you know… don't you?" Ashley asked. She knew Sam had come searching for their mom for medical treatments and this most likely wasn't the exception.

"I do. I'm fully aware of every single change." Helen nodded. Ashley looked at Sam again.

"You think it will be like us? Or… you know… like Jess?"

"It's a gamble, Ash. You know that. We will only know after it's born."

"50/50, right?"

"Exactly."

As if on cue, Sam stood up. They all had smelled the change a couple of months earlier, but no one had dared to utter a word about it. Even if they hadn't, she was positively glowing, in such a way that it could only mean one thing.

"Hey! I have an announcement to make!" Sam shouted. The room fell silent for a while, all eyes trained on her. She pulled Jack up. He couldn't help the grin that he was sporting. "Well, as some of you might have already smelled. It pleases us to announce…. Come on, Jack."

"Ah, yes… the next O'Neill will be a girl."

"Mia… Mia O'Neill." Sam said.

"Did you hear that, Helen, dearest?" Nikola asked loudly from his position at the other end of the table. "We are going to be grandparents! She'll better call me Nikola when she grows up." He added menacingly, scrunching up his nose in distaste.

"Can you imagine? Grandpa Nikola…." He shuddered, making all of them laugh, but Helen could see the proud glint in his eyes as they exchanged a glance.

If she was honest, life wasn't at all what she had imagined it would be. As Watson had explained, perhaps her choice of injecting herself with the serum influenced how the world had developed, giving her hundreds of years to change the outcome. Or maybe it wasn't her big plans but the little choices, the ones that made things happen and the world become what it was.

She smiled as she grabbed Will's hand. Maybe Will was right, he thought it was her drive to change the world to make it a better place for those who were different. Her thirst for making a space for those who lacked a spot, and not her everlasting life what made the difference.

Or perhaps it was her ideas that counted. The thought in the back of her mind often pointed that, the not-so-hidden soft spot she had that made her a loved but lonely being who wanted people around her. If only to cover the fact that, in the end, she would end up alone. That thing inside her that moved her to do things differently and try to fulfill the void that in the end would remain.

Now, though, as she eyed around the table, she dismissed her last thought. Maybe most of them would depart from her life at some point, but others would remain. Whatever happened, she knew she wasn't lonely anymore, and when the time came, well, she would survive again.

The end.