Hey there! We are going to the past. Let me know if you believe I should raise the rating. There's some unknown Teslen action somewhere in here. ? Hum, I couldn't take it out of my head! So here it is.

Enjoy!

M.

Chapter XXXI

March 27th, 2004

Conference Room

She winked at Ashley and smiled as she analyzed the expression of the unknowing presents. Most of them had stricken expressions, Catherine grinned excitedly. Teal'c remained his stoic self. However, Colonel O'Neill frowned.

"Are you seriously expecting us to believe you are 274 years old? I mean, we got your birth certificate, and it shows you were born in 1970."

"Then, Colonel, if I was born in 1970 as my certificate shows, explain to me how did I manage to give birth to Ashley who was born in 1976 ?" She asked crooking her head a little.

"I would love to hear that one," Ashley grinned.

"Well, I believe all the present are aware of children giving birth as the product of rape," Janet said grimacing. "Maybe you were one of those, and your family had the money to keep it out of the press and the knowledge to keep you both safe."

"It does make a probable theory," Helen smiled.

"Or," Henry said, typing. "Maybe I can show you all the different birth certificates she has, or the ones Tesla has. I mean, how is it easier for you to believe Tesla is an immortal vampire than the Doc being a very old lady? Sorry boss, no offense there."

"None was taken," she smiled.

"Okay, let's say we believe you are 'old,'" Jack said quoting with his fingers. "How do you know the President?" He asked making Helen sigh.

"Is it because of the call?" She asked, and he nodded once shortly. "I can't divulge how or why I met him; the fact is I've known him since he was a child. I knew his mother as well as his predecessor in the chair, well, him and all the predecessors dating back let's say the 20th century."

"Both Winston and Teddy loved her wit. Her skills as a spy were quite useful for both of them. It was hell for me, but I couldn't ever stop her from doing things before," Tesla affirmed.

"Winston and Teddy?" Daniel asked frowning.

"Churchill and Roosevelt," Will chuckled. "I know, don't even start to ask. I've known her for almost six years now, and I'm still asking about her past. I mean, what can you expect if the woman's godfather was Pasteur itself, right?"

"It doesn't matter who I knew or who I know, trust me there are plenty people on that list to fill a whole library. The fact is that I know Henry Hayes and his family along with plenty others."

"Hmm, okay. How did the two of you meet?" Daniel asked pointing to Tesla.

"We told you already; we met at Oxford." Tesla pointed.

"It was a warm day, the first day of Michaelmas," Helen added.

"The first day of the first term of Oxford," Nikola clarified.

"By 1862, I managed to be granted one space to attend but not to be part of the alumni of Oxford. It was two years later when they finally approved me as a formal student, despite my gender. And when I started fighting for a place in college, I knew I would be the only female on campus, and I wanted to make a statement of the sort. By then, I wasn't abnormal, just a woman who wanted to pursue and complete a medical career. I was already trained for it by my father and godfather. But practicing was something I wasn't allowed unless it was in the battered abnormals who lived under my home and later, some friends."

"I didn't know how she had managed to be there on that courtyard, but there she was, standing in the middle of the grounds with this smile on her face while she looked at her surroundings. And that said everything I needed to know. I walked towards her, and we never lost contact after that."

"You mentioned friends?"

"Yes," Helen's eyes glinted with the memories and so did Nikola's. "The five they called us. They were all a couple of years older than Nikola and I, and they were mostly specializing, it was Nikola's first years and me, well, I had only a place as a listener. They all were there for nine more terms before they parted ways."

"Nine terms. that's three years?"

"Yes, we met in 1862, and three of them finished their student lives by 1965. However, we kept frequenting each other until we finally went apart in 1867."

"The year you became abnormal," Daniel affirmed.

"Exactly. As we were a very tight group, Helen's father had let us find about the rarities of life. John and I were there the very moment when she got the vial of Akhkharu's blood in her hands."

"John?"

"John Druitt, Ashley's father," William explained.

"Yes, John was my fiancé when Ashley was conceived. However, I would rather not talk about him. He has already left us and can't be bothered any longer."

"Okay," he nodded. "So, 1867 you got the blood, made the serum, got it on you and what? Why did you go apart?"

"I got the blood in 1866 and it took me a year to make the serum I injected in myself. Despite all the protest of the four of them, I refused to let them test it. It was going to be the first test in humans, and it was my experiment. I wasn't willing to take the blame if something happened to them because of my actions."

"So you were subject A," Janet said with a skeptic expression.

"Yes, it was the most excruciatingly painful days of my life. It took two days until my body decided to reset itself, as we called it. And two more to return to 'normal' and as after it, I couldn't do anything out of the ordinary. We concluded that the mysteries of the blood were nothing but a myth."

"Reset?" Sam asked she hadn't heard that before.

"Yes, we theorized that a change in such depth needed a reboot. Sort to speak, the five of us went into cardiac arrest before awakening as the abnormals we became. As if our hearts needed to stop to accept the change the body went through."

"Similar to what happened with Teal'c?" Sam frowned.

"Precisely. That's exactly how it happens," Helen nodded.

"And that's why you weren't scared when it happened."

"Indeed." Nikola grinned. "We knew the change was going to affect the way his body works and thus, his heart would need a reset. It will happen to everyone who gets the cure. Under the right circumstances, it's not lethal just, necessary."

"Okay. I guess." Sam frowned. "Sorry, I interrupted you."

"There's no harm done," Helen said.

"By the end of that year, John, James, and Nigel had no further reason to remain in Oxford. They had completed their training a year before and had stayed around for research purposes. They all got offers, and they accepted them," Nikola brought them back to the subject. "I returned home, and my unknowing father sent me to the University of Graz in Austria. I already knew most of what they wanted to teach me, so I left it. Then my father convinced me that Charles University was for me, where I was in 1880. And that's when it happened," Nikola explained.

"What happened?" Catherine asked enthralled.

"We met again." He grinned.

"In 1867, was also my last year in Oxford," she smiled fondly. "I remained in London and started to take care of human and abnormal patients. Two years earlier, James entered the Scotland Yard, for his studies of the human mind. John and Nigel returned to their homes and business. Until 1872, that was. That year, there was a party for all Oxford alumni."

"And after a quick exchange of telegraphs, we all agreed to go. I was the last warm night of August, almost a month before Michaelmas 1872 started when I returned there."

1872

Oxford

Nikola's POV

I'm shaking with anxiety; it's been five years since I've since them. Five years since the last time the five had met. And I know, the only chance we have of having a pleasant time is if she is here.

Yes, it might be regarded poorly, but that devil woman is what pulls us together. I don't see any other possibility for managing such friendship with three men I have nothing in common. One studied the mind, the other two businesses and I, I'm still in love with electricity. And then she, she studied it all.

Her skills were beyond anything I've seen before, and I understood why she was like that the moment I met Gregory Magnus secret. He had raised her to inherit a heavy burden, one I'm not sure I would like to carry. And for that alone, she had to understand most things in a way no one needed before.

I take a look at the walls that we've walked, and I can't help but feel a little nostalgia. We indeed had spent some glorious times between these walls. And we grew so much that we couldn't be contained.

I look around, contrary to that day in 1962, there are many women here today, but all of them are nothing but wives: no kindred minds, no glinting eyes in search of knowledge. No, just a horde of women trying to show themselves in the lights of this event.

And I see her. The one that has a different reason for being here and my heart skips a beat.

I can't but admire her from afar, I can't help but notice how she fits well in here, and she doesn't at all, always her contradictory self. Her dress is too her, her stance is too secure, and she is looking up and down the buildings with this smirk, and I know she's thinking 'I've made it. Bloody Hell, I've made it.'

Keeping my eyes on her I walk around to get behind her, she has her eyes fixated straight ahead now, and I can see a faint blush covering her cheeks. I want to follow her line of sight, but I also want to surprise her, and I must choose.

"You are looking lovely, Ijubavnica," I whisper to her ear, and she shivers, and I feel proud of myself for managing such reaction.

"Nikola," she whispers. She turns around, and we are close, too close, and I stretch her in my arms, and she grasps me back with such force that I have to ask her to let me breathe. And I know, it should be the other way around. "Sorry, Nikola," she whispers to my ear as she takes a single step back and I notice.

"Oh, dear. You look," I start. How could I even begin to explain her she looks the exact way she did the last time I've seen her... five years earlier nonetheless. She shies away in an uncharacteristically behavior for her.

"Oh, well, you know me, I've never been one for the pimping and parading," she shrugs.

"Nonsense, you look extraordinary, better than any other woman in this place, Ijubavnica. Don't ever let that bother you."

"You know I don't," she grins back at me. And no matter how firmly she voices it, I know deep inside she doesn't believe it. She considers herself some ugly duckling that has no hope of ever finding a companion who would take her with all her burdens. She confessed to me that much, under the effects of one moonshine we concocted once. I too confessed her my fears, but I never told her I will always be there if she would want me, that I would still take her no matter what.

"Here you are," a deep voice comes from behind her back, and we lose the quiet conversation we were keeping with our eyes. And her eyes brighten. I knew she had feelings for the oaf, and I can't help but feel a bit displaced by him.

"John," she whispers not even turning around to check him. And of course, that shouldn't be surprising; we know each other that much. I don't need to see Montague to know he has that pretentious smile of his out, nor be sure that he will flirt with her all night. How could I not know? We all tend to do that when she's around.

"I hope you don't plan on hiding in plain sight all night," James Watson voice comes from behind us.

"Yes, I have to agree with James. Either you got even worse at hiding, or you are waiting for us to find you, Helen, dear."

She grins. We are all here.

We are all here for her.

I don't know if she notices the power she has over us, the power she had over all the people she met during her stance at Oxford and all the people who had reached her. But I know we do, and we can do nothing more than allow her to pull us into her magnetic field.

"Look at us, the five are together again," she smiles, "Shall we go and cause some mischief in this party?"

We nod, and we start to walk towards the ballroom, and I see them exchange glances and look at her with confused expressions. I believe they all have noticed what I did.

"James, you are the one with studies about the human mind," Nigel trails looking at her. "What can you comment on finding someone after five years and encounter that the person hasn't changed at all."

"Whatever you mean, Nigel?" Helen asks as we finally reach the ballroom, and with it, the light. "Why are you all looking at me as if I grew another head? Do I have something in my hair?" She asks touching her head lightly then looking down to her dress. When she found nothing out of the ordinary, she rushes towards one mirror that takes over one wall at the entrance, and she frowns. "I don't see anything out of the ordinary for you all being looking at me quite like that," she turns around.

"Really, dear? Don't you notice?" Watson asks her.

"Obviously I don't. Otherwise, I would have fixed it by now, wouldn't I James, dear?" She raises her eyebrow.

"Look again, Helen," Druitt says, and he walks over her, and I feel my stomach doing summersaults of angriness. I'm friends with John, but I certainly don't want him touching our Helen like that. But he does, he reaches her, proper distance is damned because even with it, I could see her skin getting covered in goosebumps and her cheeks blushing as he makes her turn around plastering himself against her back.

His hand moves slowly from her waist and up surely, and she follows the movement from the mirror. She holds her breath and closes her eyes when his hand caress her cheek and then, she lefts out a sigh. And the three of us share a look; we know we've lost her. We understand her heart belongs to him more than to any one of us.

"Open your eyes, dearest." He whispers loud enough for us to hear. "And tell me, what do you see?" She looks at them in the mirror, she's flushed, and her eyes are dilated, and we look away when she bites her lower lip making me feel things I shouldn't. "Darling, you haven't aged." He tells her.

And we or at least I, feel her eyes on me. I look up, to her eyes in the mirror and I find her eyes staring at me. Our glances connect, and she bites her lip again and raises an eyebrow.

"It is true, Helen. You haven't." I say, and she turns around.

"It must be your memories failing you all," she chuckles. "Let's enter and enjoy ourselves; it's been such a long time since the last time we did." We all look at her, and she sighs as none of us moves. "You believe it has to do with our experiment?" We all exchange another glance.

"I can't find another explanation, Helen, dear," Watson says. "I can see the passage of the days in all of us, but you. You are the same we left five years ago."

"It can't be," she shakes her head. "I broke my nose last year; I'm certain you are not noticing it. Too dazzled by the situation to be the wiser."

"Darling, you haven't changed. You don't have a broken nose. Let me show you," Druitt says blushing a little and we all frown.

He moves his hand to take something out of his pocket, a watch I assume. However, he brings out a locket. He clears his throat and opens it. We all come together to see what he is presenting her. But there's no need for us to try and occupy the same space.

She grabs the locket and takes a step closer to the mirror. She looks at herself and then at the small picture of herself that somehow had found a way into John's locket.

"No, there must be a mistake."

"No, dearest, there isn't," Nigel said.

"But what does it mean?" She frowns sounding a bit defeated, almost like that time when she confessed me her fears.

"We don't know for sure, Dear. I don't know the rest of you, gentlemen. But I will point it to her experiment."

"Well, there's only one way to know for sure," I offer, and her eyes widen.

"No, I won't let you." She tells me.

"It is the only way," I trail.

"What are you two blabbering about?" Nigel inquiries.

"We must remake her experiment, and I'm offering as a volunteer," I said.

"Well, let's all do it. Even if it's only the fountain of youth, I'm certain we won't obtain the same results. The female and male body do have different characteristics," Watson theorizes.

"No," she tries.

"What can possibly go wrong, Helen, dear?" he asks again. "Worst case scenario, it won't work. And best case, we look like this until the day we die, what's there to lose?"

"Can I least consider it?" She asks, and we know we have won. We nod in agreement. "Now, may we please enter the party before someone decides than me standing by the entrance with four gentlemen is a sort of enchantment?" she smiles

And I must say, if someone thinks it, it's quite correct. We are all around her because she enchanted us with herself a long time ago.

Present time

"It took me a week to agree and another one to reproduce the serum. And then, we had to find a way to do it without raising my father's suspicions."

"But we managed, as always." Nikola grins.

1872

Helen's POV

"If my father learns about this, he will murder me and you all," I say nervously. True to their words they granted me enough time to consider this. But they all had come and visited every day since that day in Oxford.

Everyone was trying not to look impatient nor pressuring me.

Although, I knew they all had their ideas about it, and they had won me over on day two. I resisted because I can't do much more than try and stop them. However, ultimately it is their choice as it was mine. After a week, I agree to make the serum.

It takes another week and plenty of planning to manage the same results I obtained five years ago for mine. It doesn't help that my father has decided to stay in London instead of traipsing through the Kingdom in search of new species.

No, he remained behind for this trip and this trip alone as if he had developed some sort of sixth sense that I may do something that could result in a disaster. He never knew about the blood source, and I've been on my best behavior since getting my precious degree. But then again, I'm being visited by five gentlemen, and one must think they have placed their interest in me and not in the concoction I'm making in the darkest times of the day.

Father likes James and dislikes John. Probably because James is enchanting, a self-made man and his Latin skills are almost as good as my father's. John, well, my father has announced to me that he's not good, and he is undoubtedly the one which attracts me the most.

My father, tolerates Nikola, he says I'm the only one capable of liking such an annoying man, but truth to be told, I'm a bit in love with him, the way he pictures images in his mind and the marvelous plans he has are entirely mesmerizing just like his smile and his eyes. And then, there's Nigel. Father thinks of him as a good man, a family man, a good choice.

Although, if he ought to decide my fate, which he won't, he would pick James. If I must, I bite my lower lip and shake my head. My, my Helen Magnus, where has your head gone? I ask myself: Nikola or John, John darkness or Nikola's enchantment. I sigh and press myself against the wall.

A shade moves past the corridor, and I take my chance to reach my lab to work in the vial. With a final set of tests, I'm willing to certify that I'll make available four samples of the same serum I once used.

Early in the morning, it's Nikola's day to appear in the wee hours of the day.

"You are amazing, Ijubavnica!" he exclaims embracing me tightly and placing a soft kiss on my cheek. My body shivers under the thousands of layers that make the proper outfit for a woman of my status.

"Thank you, Nikola. There's no need to shout it," I point, and he grins.

"We all should shout it from the rooftops, Doctor Helen Magnus is the brightest mind in this country!" he says, and I roll my eyes.

"Nikola, stop it!" I laugh. "We need to plan," I whisper to him, and he sighs.

"Your father," he trails, and I nod. "I don't understand; he must know by now that we are all inoffensive beings."

"You might be inoffensive, Nikola. But you are not the one who worries me," comes my father's voice and I wince. However long have him been listening to us? Nikola observes me, and I understand he's telling me that he has just joined.

"Then you should give me her hand," he grins mischievously, and I don't doubt a second before I slap him in the arm.

"Left one, or right one?" my father says, and I know he is joking.

"Either one, both are lovely." Nikola grins delightfully, and I blush. "How have you been Mister Magnus?"

"Are you ever going to call me Gregory, Nikola?"

"Is it not proper for me to call you Mister Magnus?"

"Well, you and all the other three know that proper and respectful aren't necessarily the same thing, not in this house at least. Why are you here Nikola?"

"Just visiting, I will return to Prague for the spring semester. One can never learn enough," he grins, and my father pats his shoulder.

"I can see why she keeps you around. Well, I need to get back at work. Try not to corrupt my daughter that much, Nikola." My father adds making Niko snort.

"As if a simple man like me could change the force of nature that comprises inside your daughter, Mister Magnus."

"I guess you are correct, Nikola. I wish I could, yet she's still who she is." My father winks at me before placing a kiss on my cheek and turning towards the other side of the house.

"Just say the word, and I'll make the arrangements, Ijubavnica."

"Let's do this." I agree.

It takes us a while to find a workaround, but as always we do. They claim to my father they are in desperate need of completing some investigations. And our library is vast and empty of students searching for salvation among the written words. He agrees to allow them to stay for a week. Nothing more than that. And it's in the library that we mount the place to inject them one by one with the serum.

"I'm going first," Nikola says, and I raise an eyebrow.

"Well, my change took two days and a cardiac arrest Nikola. We only have a week and four of you. I will suggest we take draws; we can't possibly allow all of you to go through it at once, without any medical supervision," I add looking at the four of them. They nod in agreement, and I grab a paper and write their names.

"I'll suggest my name to be written out, Helen dear," James says, and I turn around with an inquiring glance, and he chuckles. "Nothing quite like that my dearest. I'm the only one with some form of medical training. We can divide and conquer so to speak."

"Pray tell what are you suggesting, James?"

"Two of them get treated first. It took two days until you had the cardiac arrest. Therefore we should consider two days for each of us, in which we will be able to take care of them separately. You can look at one, and I can tend to other. However, if my analysis is correct, there's a slight chance the process takes less time in some of us. Or even more time, either way, is only if we divide the work that by the end of the week we will be all set. After all, we only need to worry until the 'reset' happens."

"Very well, then. If you all agree I'll take a name for me, and then James can take the other name. Whoever finishes first will then apply it to the third of you, and then I'll tend to James."

"I guess we have a plan," Nikola grins. I rip the page in their three names, and once they are all folded, I place them in my hand and shake them and throw them to the air, grabbing one as James grabs another.

"Very well then, the first one is," I say unfolding the paper with trembling hands. "Nikola," I whisper, and as he winks at me. I know I've paled.

"I have Nigel," James announces by my side.

While I try to compose myself, they arrange a second seating place for Nigel as I prepare the dosage. I turn around and find four sets of eyes on me. I give James the syringe and take mine. Slowly, I walk towards Nikola, and I know he is grinning under that awful mustache of his.

"Don't worry, Ijubavnica. I trust you with my life," he says, and the knot at that has formed at the pit of my stomach the moment I've read his name, tightens.

"That's what worries me," I whisper. And then, I press the needle against his arm.

"Oh Dear Lord!" he starts to writhe, and on the other side, Nigel is doing the same. They are a bit too loud, and quickly John resolves it. He picks Nikola as if the man was the lightest thing and turns towards me.

"Which way, Helen?" He asks since Nikola is the only one who's not staying in the same wing they are. I rush to the room Nikola had used during his years at Oxford, a door away from mine, and John follows me close. The moment we reach it, he places him on the bed and reaches for a chair that he places besides the bed. "I'm going to help James to move Nigel; he's heavier than Tesla."

"Thanks, when I'm sure he's back to life I'll join you at the Library. Tell James to do the same. That way, if either of them takes less time, we can proceed as planned."

He nods and closes the door behind him. Nikola continues to squirm; he's worse than I was. He keeps tossing and turning, letting out words in his native tongue that I'm yet to understand. He whispers my name, and I feel the guilt as I sit by him. I don't move from his side until someone knocks the door and I find myself opening it just slightly. James is standing on the other side; I proceed to give him space to enter.

"Have you eaten something, Helen dear?" He asks taking my face in his hand, and I shook no. "Then go, freshen up and eat. It's been a long day."

"A day?"

"Yes, dear. It's 11:15 PM."

"Why aren't you with Nigel? How is he?" he grins.

"Well, as I thought, Nigel process was short. He rebooted ten or twelve hours after. I had a conversation with John, and he agreed that one night of good sleep is going to be helpful for both. He already turned to bed telling me that he better be awoken early; you know how much he's not a morning person." He chuckled. "I decided that since you didn't join us at the library, you were still here or sleeping yourself. I took my chances and here I am. Therefore, before I turn for the night, I considered being a gentleman and offer you a chance to eat and freshen up a little."

"I," I doubt biting my lower lip and taking a look at the other side of the room.

"Don't worry; I didn't let anything happen to Nigel. I won't allow something to happen to Nikola, no matter how annoying I consider him to be." He grinned.

"Very well, then. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Take your time, Helen."

I eat and take a quick bath before preparing a tray with fruits, water and a pot of tea that I can place on the fire. And with all settled, I walk to Nikola's room. James smiles at me and stands up to help me with the things I'm carrying.

"Thanks, I prepared one similar for you to take tomorrow in case it takes longer for John," I smile

"Excellent, we are going to do it in his room since I'm by far not strong enough to carry him there. I will come in the morning bringing you all the needed things so you can prepare the vial for him."

"Very well, I'll see you in the morning, James."

"I'll say try to get some sleep, but I know you won't." He says walking away, I sigh.

I look at Nikola nothing has changed, he is still tossing and turning. Without much to do but stare at him, I move to set the teapot next to the fire and prepare some of the warm beverage to keep myself awake through the night. Then something happens, I hear the clear sound of fabric being ripped.

I turn around towards the origin of the sound, and I don't see much. But then, I notice that somewhere close to Nikola's hands the sheet has been ripped in four places on both sides of him. I frown. When it happens again, my eyes set on his hands. I can see long nails growing out of the blue before they rip the fabric and disappear again.

"What did I do?" I whisper to myself.

After that, nothing out of the ordinary happens until James enters the room, he brings me the vial and syringe and takes away the tray I had. He returns with a new one along with fresh tea, and a sandwich and remains there until I've eaten.

"I don't know how long it will be before you or I can leave their rooms," he smiles.

"Do take the precautions to have food and water for at least the next two days," I say, and he nods. "How is Nigel? Do we know how he reacted to it?"

"You won't believe what it did to him until you see him. I sent him home for now until we are all done. It's better for him not to be around in case it happens in front of your father; he's struggling with his newfound skill."

"What is it?"

"You'll see when you are finally out of here." He grins. And then, there's a knock on the door, and he walks towards it.

"Helen," John whispers and I shiver. "James if you are all set, I'm ready." He affirms. "Of course, if you don't mind I would like a few words with Helen before we do this." James nods and leaves the room, taking the vial and the prepared syringe with him.

"Are you sure you want to do it, John?" I ask, and he smiles, his hands caress my cheek softly.

"I do. Helen, you saved me from myself before, and I trust you will be there if I need to be saved again."

"I might not be there," I say looking towards the bed.

"I don't mean now, I mean in the future." He places a soft kiss on my cheek, and I gasp. "If something were to happen with whatever I may end up with, if someone can save me, it is you, Helen Magnus." He says, "I only needed to see you as the man I am today. To have your image burnt into my mind while I go through the change."

He leaves, and I'm feeling a bit dumbfounded by his words. It's hours later, I'm still halfway lost in my thoughts, although my eyes are pinned on Nikola's moving form when the next thing happens, he swears, and honestly, I've only heard him swear in a handful of opportunities. Then he growls in a primal way I've never heard before from a man. His teeth are different for a few seconds; they look sharper before they are back to normal. And when the afternoon gives space to the night, it happens. His change, whatever it might be is completed, he enters a cardiac arrest.

I move quickly to save him from his death, and then I feel it. His hands grasp my body, and his lips find mine. And I can't help but answer.

It's nothing quite like I felt before; it's completely raw. Nikola bites me softly in the neck, and I moan, I don't have time to blush at my own need before I notice his long nails, those that ripped the sheet before, are now cutting my dress open.

Deep in my mind I know this was not how a first time was supposed to be, not for me and not for him. It's outside of marriage and in this primal way that has nothing to do with the compromise of a marriage or the romantic ending of love.

It's not that, and it's too much. It's too wrong, and it's too bloody right, and I can't keep myself from undressing him, while he seems unable to unlatch himself from me.

We pant, we move, he enters me, and I scream in pain, and he bites me again. I forget about the pain and enjoy the feeling of being complete for the first time in my life, not noticing the blood stains right next to my neck. He doesn't stop; I don't either. We simply can't. And then, as something builds in me, I see him chewing his own wrist and as blood pours from it he offers it to me. And without a shred of a doubt, I latch into it tasting it. As soon as I do, him he bites my neck, hard. This time I do feel the skin break and the warm blood pouring out from it, he sucks it, and I reach ecstasy, and so does him.

I'm still panting and trembling, and halfway out of this world as he sucks from my neck as if his life depended on it. And beyond any coherence, I let him. It's utterly erotic too. The rush I felt starts to slow as he licks the remains of the former pouring blood out of my skin, and I shiver.

I want more.

It's something in him that draws me closer, something that was there before but not quite like this. Yes, I liked him, loved him even. But I've never felt this raw need of giving myself wholly to him. I felt desire for him, yet not like this. And as soon as my skin touches his, we start all over again, exploring, tasting, trying, biting, we can't seem to stop ourselves from doing it.

We climax together over and over again until he releases my neck and collapses back to bed and I follow. He caresses my hair with one hand, and my back with the other and I sigh against his chest. My neck feels sore of all the biting he did, and I was sure I was going to die from lack of blood, but here I am, feeling more alive than ever.

As if he could read my mind, he places a soft kiss on his preferred bite spot and sighs. And even with all this new energy running through my body, we fall asleep before I can come to terms with what had just happened. The next thing I know is he is staring at me, or at least I feel his eyes wandering on my naked form. He licks his lips, and I blush, wondering if he still can taste me on them. His eyes soften when he notices I'm awake.

"Ijubavnica," he says and my body trembles. "I'm sorry. I'm so terribly sorry; this shouldn't have happened like this. Not like this, not with you." He adds, his hand stops before he can touch me. And I raise my eyes and find his conflicted ones. "I don't know what came over me, to do this to you. Helen, please forgive me," he pleads, and I place a finger on top of his lips.

"Nikola," I whisper. "I don't know what came over me neither. We should; I should, I know this collides completely with what you've been taught as well as which what I've been taught, we will come through, there's no other way. I can't lose you because of this, " I confess biting my lower lip. "Please, don't run away from me," he sighs. We frown. "How are you feeling?" I ask, there's no point in discussing this situation at the moment.

"Good," He blushes. "I mean, my body is still a bit sore, but I feel oddly refreshed. I feel stronger, healthier. I also feel, hungry." He finishes, but his eyes stop by my neck. And his tongue comes out to lick his thin lips. He shakes himself. "You need to go, Helen, I can smell your blood, and it's driving me mad. I don't want to hurt you, not again."

I bite my lower lip as I remember the way his teeth punctured my skin and how ungodly good that had felt, all those times. And nod. Whatever happened it better does not happen again.

"Ahm, you should freshen up before getting to them." He calls over as I'm trying to find something to wear back to my room, which thank goodness is only a door away from his.

"Why?" I ask as I find a robe and I try to attach the remainders of my clothes, so it doesn't seem I'm naked under it. That would be utterly inappropriate if I were to cross someone on my way to my room.

"I can smell you from here, Ijubavnica." He says with this deep voice I only heard the previous night. And then he blushes, "And I can smell me in you, " I shiver. "If I can, who knows if they can too."

"Stay here, Nikola. I mean it; no roaming the house." I add pointedly. "Not until you find out what is that you became."

"And how, pray tell, will I figure it by staying here?"

"Test it," I say before I disappear out of his room.

I run towards my bedroom and close the door behind me, and lean against it. I want to cry of happiness; I want to shout of angriness. I do none. Biting my lower lip, I walk towards the bathroom, and I start a bath. I take a look at the destroyed clothes as they are clinging to my body and falling out of it showing parts that until yesterday only I had seen.

I look at my neck, and I expect to find a bite mark and a purple toned skin. But I see nothing but white unmarred skin. I close my eyes and thank God that at least my sins wouldn't glare me from my neck every time I look at myself in the mirror.

I clean myself, twice. I feel heavenly and sinful, and I need to start living not only with the aftermath of last night. But with the knowledge that I want more.

I know I've never been much of an indoctrinated woman, but the learnings that were pushed to me through my nana weight heavy. I know I was going to hell even before last night; now, I'm confident that my soul has no salvation. I've sinned, and I took Nikola with me.

I close my eyes as a single tear abandons them. And then, I stand and dress, there's still too much of life ahead of me, and there are too many sins to commit before I die. I walk to the other end of the house and check on the other two men of my life.

The one I admire the most is not there, but the one I thought I was going to give me to, is sitting as attractive as ever on his bed. His hair is mussed, and I feel this tremendous need of passing my hand through it, as I did with Nikola's not that long ago. Although my heart beats wildly, I don't feel the need to flung myself at him as I did last night. I whimper.

"Helen?" he asks, and I shake my head. My heart plummeting to my stomach.

"Good morning John, I wanted to know how are you feeling?" I manage to say, hoping I don't sound guilty.

"I'm well enough. James said I'd reached the end of the cycle at around 1 AM," close to when Nikola and I lost our virginities to each other, I think.

"Do you have any idea of what changed in you yet?" I manage to ask.

"I'm not certain. I will be testing to see if I manage to find what has."

"Well, then, if you are alright. I should find James and finish this for once and for all."

"Very well, then. I shall wait for your return. By the way, Helen. You look gloriously beautiful today, has something happened?"

"Well, I fell asleep a little after midnight." I blush, lying through my teeth. "Which is somewhat early for me."

"Oh, then your beauty sleep worked marvelously." He winks. "Thanks for stopping by, dear."

He says, and I nod, guilt taking over my body. I walk towards James room and knock. He opens the door and looks at me.

"You look different today, Helen. Is everything alright?"

"Yes. Shall we do your procedure?"

"Of course, I'll prepare your tray of food, and you can bring the vial. I left it in the safe." I nod, and we both move to complete the process.

A/N: Yes, I know.. Virginities! They are 30! You are insane! Right? But take a moment to think that we are talking about the Victorian Era, where women were supposed to get married and be mothers not going around sleeping with friends :P. And of course, Tesla (the real one), he was the son of a priest, good luck finding someone more indoctrinated in religion than him (there probably are many). But even with all that, it made sense; she was trying to get somewhere getting her degree and all and normally when you are that driven, you forget some of your base needs. Until someone reminds you that you do have them. xD