Forgive me that it took me so long to come up with a new chapter :| Although I know where this story is going and I have a plan formed in my mind it's not easy to fill the gaps. Hope you'll enjoy it though :)

As always, thanks to Misery Loves Sarah who read it first and corrected all the mistakes I made!

Sighing, Helen looked up from the microscope and tipped the resolution in the laptop next to her. This wasn't good. If the virus kept spreading at this rate, death would come in less than three days. Two abnormals had already died. It was unacceptable, but nothing Helen tried showed any signs of success.

She massaged her temples where a headache had formed. When that didn't help she closed her eyes and buried her face in her hands.

"Any progress?" A man asked from behind her. John had noticed her discomfort and forgotten his work to come check on her.

"No..." She sighed and moved her hands from her face, lacing them, she laid her chin on top. Three days without sleep had finally caught up and she was unbearably tired, so tired that she felt as if she could sleep for a whole day.

John knew she hadn't slept and neither had he. They had spent almost all their time in the lab, trying to figure out what was making the abnormals sick. One week ago, one of the residents had suddenly shown signs of a serious disease and others quickly deteriorated. Soon after that the first had died.

John encircled her from behind and laid his head on her shoulder. "Then let's gather the facts. What have are we certain of?"

Helen rested her head on his shoulder and inhaled deeply. "It doesn't affect every abnormal but the ones that have a specific and rare gene. The others seem to be resistant. Only seven abnormals in residence had this gene and now we have to find a cure for the five who are still alive."

"But it's a good thing there aren't more of them, isn't it? Just imagine what would happen if this virus was more widespread!" After all they were lucky, it could have been worse.

"I know. It's just so frustrating to be clueless. I'm helpless and it seems there's nothing I can do about it. They just die under my hands!" Helen groaned in resignation and closed her eyes. John's chest was warm and she was so exhausted sleep threatened to claim her.

"But I don't think working yourself to exhaustion will do any good. And I'm sure after you've caught some sleep you'll find something to stop this." John smiled as he looked down at Helen and found her eyes closed. He stroke her arms encouragingly and waited for her to get up.

Helen sighed sleepily and rose from her seat. "Maybe you're right. I can't focus on my work anymore and this headache doesn't want to go away. " Still with his arms around her waist she turned to face him.

"But there is one condition." Helen smiled and laid her hands on his chest. "You have been awake as long as I have and as far as I know you need sleep like any other living being."

John pretended to think about it while drawing her closer to him. "Hmm, I think this is acceptable." He loosened his grip around her waist and dragged her to the door. He didn't feel the need to use his ability; they could as easily walk to their quarters.

After a few minutes the two of them reached the door of Helen's room and John stopped. He had his own room down the hall and wouldn't enter Helen's until she allowed him. They had agreed on taking things slowly and so they did.

Helen turned to him and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him on his lips. She then walked to the door, not without flashing one last smile at him. "Good night, John."

"Good night, Helen."

After Helen had disappeared he walked to his own door and entered the room. Only two weeks had past since they had met again. Helen had convinced Will and the other Sanctuary heads of house that he wasn't a threat to anyone.

The electrical energy running through his body down in Hollow Earth, when he'd made sure Helen could follow Adam, had done its job. The energy elemental hadn't shown up since then and his thoughts were his alone again.

Helen had given him a room and shown him every part of the house. Will had left after a week and Henry had followed two days later. John was sure they had stayed longer than planned just to keep an eye on him. The illness that had spread among the abnormals had also made them hesitant to go, but Helen had assured them she could handle it.

They had now been alone for four days and worked day and night to find a treatment. Kate was still in Hollow Earth and had built a life together with Garris. The Big Guy had left again to help the Hollow Earth abnormals rebuild their home and would come back in a week. He wondered what Helen would have done if he hadn't been at the Sanctuary to help her. Perhaps she'd have called someone from one of the other houses.

It also didn't appear to be a problem that John hadn't any skills. He was good in hunting abnormals and working undercover but wasn't an expert in technique, medicine or psychology. It seemed to be enough to work though. Helen had taught him some things about biology while they had been exploring the virus and he still remembered the basic things he'd learnt at Oxford. Therefore his presence hadn't been as worthless as he'd feared.

After he'd pulled his shirt over his head and left it together with his other clothes on a chair John made his way to the bathroom. A few minutes later he turned off the light and made himself comfortable in the bed. Now with the warmth of the blankets surrounding him, he could feel how tired he really was and that Helen had been right. A smile crossed his face at the thought of her and he soon drifted off to sleep.

Helen closed the door behind her and went to change into her nightgown. It still felt a bit unreal after two weeks to be with John. Helen sat down on her bed and looked out the window. The night was clear and the moon and the stars made it seem unusually bright out. To have the sane John, her John back was something she'd dreamt of and now it felt like this. A dream.

Though things at the Sanctuary were far from perfect right now, unexpected happiness spread through her and a giggle escaped her mouth. She bit her lip but couldn't prevent a wide smile from escaping to the surface. She laid down and covered herself in the blankets.

This second chance they had gotten was a gift. It made the pain and sorrow of their past lives endurable and less dramatic. When John was around Helen felt at ease. Now, when she'd excepted her feelings to mixed, she couldn't remember why this should be wrong.

Helen needed time though. Time in which she could grow to completely trust John again. Time where she'd get to know him and he'd get to know her fully. Time to renew their relationship. So, they'd maintained a level of distance for the beginning and not gone any further than kissing. Helen was still a bit uncomfortable to let anyone too near.

But, time was something they had enough of. And for the first time in over two hundred years Helen was excited to see what the future would bring her. No matter what would happen, there was someone she could lean on and trust with her worries, even if they were ridiculous.

Helen closed her eyes and drifted into sleep. In a few hours both of them would be up again to find a treatment and she was sure that somehow they'd solve this problem.

They had all the time they needed.
The future was theirs.

Or so she thought...

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