Author's Note: Thanks as always to the best beta ever, MajorSam, for her keen insights and quick turnaround. (Yes, flattery will get me anywhere ;) I own nothing of Sanctuary or its characters. My words, however, are indeed my own. Enjoy, and PLEASE REVIEW! Chapter 4 coming soon…

The Shadow Men
Chapter 3: Confessions
(Copyright 2011, NoCleverSig)

Will Zimmerman pushed through the infirmary doors frantically scanning the room for Helen Magnus. He found her, dark hair pulled back, green scrubs on just leaving Henry Foss's sleeping side. The Big Guy was checking Henry's vitals, standing over his friend like a hairy, protective angel.

"How is he?" Will asked, nervously glancing over his shoulder at Henry and following Magnus to the sink as she washed her hands. She looked up at the ring she'd left on the counter.

"He'll be all right, thank god," she answered, scrubbing her hands longer than was necessary and staring at the flowing water, anything to avoid eye contact with Will. "He lost a great deal of blood but, fortunately, the knife didn't penetrate any internal organs. Henry heals fast, given his unique physiology. Barring infection or some other unforeseen circumstance, he should recover fairly quickly."

Magnus wouldn't look at him. It was obvious. She was upset and worried, certainly, but there was something else. Something she didn't want him to see. It didn't take a psychiatrist to guess what that something might be.

"That's good. That's really good. And how are you doing?" he prodded gently.

She finished washing her hands, took the ring off the counter, and cleansed it with soap under the hot, steaming water. "Are you asking me if I'm tired? How I'm feeling about this evening? Or what I think about John trying to kill my adopted son?"

Will dug his hands into his jean pockets, surprised at her frank response. "All of the above?"

She spun around and faced him, heat in her eyes. "Not too well, Will. Not too well at all."

"Magnus, Druitt wouldn't purposefully…."

"Don't! " She raised a hand up in front of her chest forcing Will to step back. "Don't even try to make excuses for him! Every time…every single time…," she hesitated, the anger clear in her voice. She shook her head finally putting her hands on her hips. "Whenever I give him the benefit of the doubt, allow him back into my life, just when I believe things are, God forbid, normal…." She stopped, closed her eyes, and put a hand to her head. Will stood there watching her, silent. Helen took a deep breath, pulled her hand back down and opened it, staring at the opal and diamond ring John had given her earlier that evening.

God damn it!

She couldn't stay here anymore. Couldn't stand here and speak to Will. She needed to leave. Get away, quickly, before she fell apart, before the tears she had been on the verge of shedding all night came pouring out of her. If she was going to cry, and she knew she had little choice in the matter, she'd do it in private, without witnesses, thank you very much.

God damn John Druitt! God damn him to bloody hell!

She shoved the ring into her pocket, turned on her heels, and walked as fast as she could to the small infirmary office.

He knew it was the last thing she wanted, but Will followed her. He had no choice.

He turned the corner and saw her sitting at her desk, laptop in front of her, head bowed and bent against her folded hands. She looked like she was praying. Maybe she was. He leaned against the door jamb, not saying a word, and waited.

"I don't want to talk about this right now," she announced after a few moments.

She didn't turn around, but he could tell from the sound of her voice, the way she was carrying herself, the trembling in her shoulders that she was crying. It wasn't a sight he was used to seeing.

"Magnus, I'm sorry, but we need to talk. There's something I need to tell…."

She spun in her chair. "Not now, Will! Please…"

Will's face fell. Helen's eyes were red, her cheeks wet with tears. She turned back around and buried her face in the palm of her hands, her body shaking.

Will Zimmerman was at a loss. Helen Magnus in tears was a jarring sight. He answered his uncertainty by doing the first thing he thought of, taking the action most natural to him.

He walked up, knelt down, and put his arms around her.

She bristled at his touch, sitting so still, so rigid, Will was afraid his instinct had been off, that he was pushing her away instead of pulling her out of her misery. But after a moment she reached her arms around his waist, buried her head into the side of his neck, and let go, sobbing in his arms so hard, so intense, all he could do was hold her and hang on.

She cried a long time. The tears flooded out of her, choking Will with their magnitude. Was she crying for John, he wondered? Henry? Ashley? James? God, the list could go on and on, Will realized with sudden clarity. Immortality was every human being's dream, yet it was Helen Magnus' nightmare.

After a time, she quieted. Still she clung to him, so he did too, holding her tight.

"Magnus?" he eventually whispered in her ear. It was one word, only her name, but it meant so much more. It was a question, a statement, a promise: Are you alright? What can I do? What can I say? How can I help?

She pulled back and looked at him, her blue eyes swimming in a sea of red, her face and cheeks glistening with tears. She closed her eyes and nodded, wiping her face with her hands. "I'm all right, Will. I'm all right….Thank you," she added with a slight smile that was meant to reassure him, if not herself. He smiled back, playing along. She was far from all right, he knew it, but for the first time in the three years since he'd known her she had let herself be completely vulnerable in front of him and that, at least, was a start.

He got up, walked over to the cabinet, grabbed a box of tissue, and brought it back to the table, pulling up a seat next to hers. She nodded and smiled at him again, taking the tissue and wiping her eyes, her nose, pulling the pieces of herself back together that she had allowed to spill out so honestly in front of him. He'd give her time to do that before he told her, before he had to face, what he was sure, would be a very different reaction from Magnus.

When she seemed composed, he took a deep breath, looked her straight in the eye, and began.

"Magnus, there's something I need to tell you. Something I should have told you as soon as it happened, but….Damn it," he swore under his breath to himself.

Helen narrowed her eyes. "What is it?"

He couldn't stall any longer. He had to let her know. Might as well just come out and say it.

"John came to me yesterday afternoon," Will paused. "Magnus, you know that I don't disclose doctor-patient discussions, not private ones, but this was different. I told him he needed to talk to you, tell you what was going on. I agreed to go with him."

He could see her demeanor change, the tension build.

"What are you talking about, Will?" she asked shaking her head in confusion. "What did John tell you?"

Will took a deep breath, knowing the fury his confession would likely unleash. "Druitt came to talk to me because he said he was afraid he was going insane."

Helen snapped to attention. "What?"

"For the past couple of weeks he's been…seeing things," he told her hurriedly. "He described them as shadows, dark shapes, out of the corner of his eye. But when he turned to look they were gone. At first he thought he was dreaming, but then he began to see them during the day too. He was…afraid, Magnus. Afraid that maybe the energy creature had left him psychologically scarred or…"

"Or what?" Helen demanded.

"Or that what he was seeing was real. Magnus, John was afraid he was being stalked by a similar creature. He was afraid he was going to be possessed again."

Magnus' jaw dropped. A mix of emotions crossed her face, shock, fear, concern, surprise, and then finally anger.

She flew out of her chair, standing up so quickly she knocked it over, her fists clenched.

"And you're just telling me this now? Tonight? After John tried to murder Henry? Will, what the hell were you thinking!" she yelled at him.

Will stood up to face her. "John asked me to wait a day. One day," he explained, his hands open wide in despair. "He said he had a special evening planned with you, something he wanted to tell you or give you, I don't remember which. I agreed because it seemed important to him, because I thought…I hoped, one day wouldn't matter….Obviously, I was wrong."

"Obviously!" Helen shouted, pacing the room now. She was angry, furious so enraged she was shaking. Will was her protégé. She trusted him with everything, EVERYTHING. The entire Sanctuary network, her life's work was in his hands should anything happen to her. How could he have made such a terrible error in judgment?

"You should have come to me the moment John told you this!" she yelled, pointing her finger at him. "The very moment! You know that don't you?"

"Yes."

"Your decision…your lack of judgment could have cost Henry his life, you understand that?"

"Yes."

She stopped her pacing and stood in front of him. He looked at her, and then cast his eyes down at his feet, his hands in his pockets again. She gazed back at him and tilted her head. "God damn it, Will," she said softly.

They stood silently.

"I'm sorry, Magnus, I don't know what else to say. You're right. I was wrong." She started to interrupt him but he stopped her with a hand to her arm. "But my gut, my instinct tells me he's not unbalanced. He was perfectly rational when he spoke to me. Worried, fearful, certainly, but perfectly sane. There's something else going on, here, Magnus, something else at play."

"What?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. I can't put my finger on it. All I know is John never meant to hurt Henry, I'm almost positive of that."

"Almost," she snapped.

He looked at her sheepishly. The both grew silent again.

"He's on medication," she finally said more calmly now, thinking out loud. "Cellular inhibitors to keep energy Abnormals, or anything similar, from invading his body. I know he's been taking the treatments. You don't think….?"

"That they're not working?" Will shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know what's going on. But I don't think he's insane. And I don't think he's possessed. You've known him longer than I have." He knew it was a terrible understatement when he said it. "But it's not the same. I don't know what it is, Magnus, but I think something else is happening."

She crossed her arms and looked at him. "We need to talk to John."

Will nodded. "Yes. Yes we do."

Magnus took a deep breath and punched in the security code. She entered the cell with Will following behind her. Biggie had wanted to go in too, to make sure she was protected. When she told him no, he insisted on monitoring the conversation from outside via the video link, leaving Kate to watch over Henry. She agreed to that.

John was sitting on the cot when they walked in, still shirtless and barefoot. His only clothes were his black silk pajama bottoms, his head in his hands. Helen took another deep breath, steadying herself. She'd been lying by his side less than two hours ago and before that….she shook her head, burying her feelings. There wasn't time for that. Not now.

John bolted upright when they entered, anxious and upset. He wanted to run to her, wrap his arms around her, tell her it was all a horrible accident, but he knew from the look on her face, her demeanor, that she wasn't ready to hear it. She had assumed the worst about him, that the Ripper had returned, and part of him was afraid she may be right.

"How is Henry? How is he? Helen?" he pleaded.

"He'll be fine," she answered, arms crossed over her chest standing several feet away from John. "He lost a lot of blood, but he heals quickly. He'll be all right."

John collapsed back onto the cot, his legs giving out from under him, his face in his hands.

"Thank God. Thank God," he murmured. He looked up at her, tears in his eyes. "Helen, I never mean to hurt him. I…please, you must believe me. It was an accident, a terrible, terrible accident."

God, how she wanted to believe….

Will pulled a chair over so she could sit down. He remained standing. He was still too upset at what had happened, at his role in it, to sit. It was a small penance to pay on his part.

"Will said you came to see him yesterday, John. I need to know what's going on."

John glanced up at Will sympathetically and back to Helen. "Helen, don't blame William for this. This is my fault…."

She cut him off.

"We'll talk about that some other time, as well as why you didn't tell me any of this sooner. What I need to know now is what's been happening to you and what the hell happened tonight?"

John shot a glance at Will again. Will folded his arms across his chest and nodded.

John closed his eyes.

"For the past, I'm not sure how long, 10, 14 days perhaps, I've been seeing a figure, a dark shadow, out of the corner of my eye, lurking in my peripheral vision, but when I turn to look, it's gone."

"What do you mean by shadow, John?" she asked, her voice neutral.

John shook his head. "Just that. A dark, shape, like an outline of a person. At first, I thought I was dreaming or it was some trick of the eye, but then, when it continued, and became more frequent, I began to worry. I began to think that perhaps," he hesitated. "Perhaps something was wrong with me, psychologically, or…." He stopped.

"Or what?"

He looked down at her hand, noticing for the first time that she was no longer wearing the ring he had so recently given her, and sighed "Or that I was being haunted once more, Helen. Like before."

Haunted…The word sent a shiver down her spine.

"I began to wonder if a creature, like the creature that had possessed me, was stalking me, waiting to take control again."

She nodded. She was afraid, terrified in fact, to ask the next question, but she had to. "I need to know, John, and I need an honest to God answer," she hesitated, staring him straight in the eyes. "Are you yourself?"

Will looked down at her, momentarily confused.

"Am I speaking to John Druitt and only John Druitt? No one else," she went on. "You know what I mean."

John nodded to her in understanding. "I do. You mean am I possessed? Is that why I attacked Henry? Has a creature possessed me again?" He stopped, and shook his head. "No, Helen. No. I would know. I remember how it was, I remember…" He closed his eyes, a look of pain crossing his face that made Helen's heart ache. "No. I am not. I swear to God, Helen I am not."

Will interrupted. "Then what happened tonight, John? Why did you attack Henry?"

John shook his head. "I didn't. Not intentionally. I assure you, it was an accident. A terrible accident." He turned to Helen. "Helen, you must believe me!"

She looked at him. "Tell us what happened, John," she said ignoring his plea, her voice low and controlled.

John nodded. "I woke up. I don't know what time it was, maybe 2 or 3. I knew I was being watched. I could feel it. I opened my eyes and I could see it, this…dark shape hovering in the corner by the wardrobe. I pretended to be asleep to try to observe it, see if I could figure out what it was, what it wanted from me. Then it moved, heading for our bed, toward you. I panicked, I opened my eyes to look at it, and it darted away across the vanity toward the door and into the sitting quarters in front of the bedchambers. After that, I just reacted. I grabbed the knife I keep in the end table and hurried after it. For a brief moment I saw it head-on in the sitting chamber next door. A tall, black, mass, the size and vague figure of a person. It just stood there, facing me, then vanished, slipping through the outer door and into the hallway. I ran through the room, threw open the door, and saw it move quickly around the corner of the hall. I ran after it knife in hand when…," he shook his head, lowering it, staring at his hands. "I ran into Henry, and when I did I stabbed him, thinking I had caught the creature. Too scared, too…I don't know what.. to think straight. To stop myself in time."

"It all happened so fast, Helen. When I looked the creature was gone and there was Henry and...Dear God…" he trailed off.

John closed his eyes, rubbing his face with his hands, blinking back tears.

"Helen, I would never hurt him. You must believe me. I…It was a horrible accident."

Helen stared at him. She wanted to believe him. With every fiber of her being she wanted to.

"Why didn't you come to me, John? Tell me about this sooner?"

John glanced up at Will and back down to Helen again.

"Because I was scared. Scared that I was either going insane or that some creature was stalking me, trying to possess me once more, but mostly…" He stopped and looked up at her, his blue eyes shining. "I was scared of losing you. Of losing all of this," he said, looking around, meaning of course the Sanctuary, his home. "I can't go back to that life again, Helen. If it comes to it, if that's what's happening, I need you to promise me, you won't let me go back."

She swallowed. They both knew what he was asking of her.

She shook her head, not able to look at John, not able to even consider what he was asking her to do. "John, Let's not get ahead of ourselves." She turned to Will. "Will? We need to run some diagnostic tests, rule out any neurological abnormalities, perhaps even optical, that could explain the reasons for John's…visions." She wasn't sure what else to call them.

"We also need to interview the residents, particularly those with empathic, telepathic, or similar abilities. We need to find out if anyone has seen or sensed anything similar to what John has described."

Will nodded.

"And we need to find Nikola Tesla," she added.

John and Will both looked at her, surprised.

"Tesla? Why?" John shot at her. Tesla was the last person he wanted to see.

"Because Nikola helped me design the drug that we're using to treat you. John. The drug we're using to keep an energy creature from invading you again during teleportation and because…he has the energy creature. The one that possessed you. That was part of the deal I made with him when he agreed to help me rid the creature from you. He got to keep it and study it as long as he promised to maintain its security."

"Magnus? "Will asked, not believing she was suggesting what he thought she was suggesting.

She paused, her face paling. "If we can't find a psychological or physiological cause for what you're experiencing, and if we can't validate the existence of some other abnormal inside the Sanctuary then…."

John stared at her, suddenly understanding where she was going. He looked like a man just sentenced to death.

"We have to find out if the drugs are working. And I can think of only one way to completely establish that," she said, not able to look at John.

"Magnus, you can't possibly suggest we…" Will started, but Magnus interrupted him.

"I do, Will. If all else fails, we release the energy creature and see if it can repossess John. If it does, we have our answer."

(to be continued)