She opened her eyes to see the infirmary set out before her. John was already laying Sara on the cot, her small body flailing and convulsing. Acting quickly, as her years of experience had taught her, Magnus began shouting out orders. She injected the girl with a paralytic and her seizures slowed to a halt. She took her pulse with one hand before glaring at John. "What happened?"

"I don't know; this is the worst it's been."

"What do you mean the worst it's been?"

He looked at her pointedly, "You told me not to come to you."

"Bloody hell, John, you could have come for this."

"It's not like I didn't take her to see doctors."

"Abnormal doctors?"

"A few."

Which meant no, or only one, in his book. Leaning over the still form of her daughter she ran her fingers over her face. She looked like she was about seven or eight—she had missed a lot. "When did it start?"

John pursed his lips, "I started to notice it almost right away. The seizures were small though, nothing that couldn't be handled with medication." She waited patiently for him to continue, "They gradually became worse. This is the seventh one like this she has had, but this time she wouldn't stop."

"How long was she seizing?"

"Five, maybe ten minutes."

Helen shook her head and drew in a breath. "This is not good, John." He didn't answer her, he knew it wasn't. Helen hooked the girl up to monitors and inserted an IV into her hand. It was always easier to put it in the hand on a child, they would be able to move more—at least that's what Ashley had told her. Drawing blood carefully from her other arm, Helen made for the labs sure that Declan had already been informed of the situation and was leaving her to focus.

John stayed with his daughter until she woke up from the drugs her mother had given her. Her eyes opened slowly fluttering shut at the harsh light she found. John leaned over her then, his hand running over the girls face, "Sara, wake up, it's ok love." He saw her gorgeous blue eyes then, the same as her mother's staring at her.

"Daddy?"

"It's ok, my sweet. You just needed some help so I brought you to see Mommy." He leaned down as kissed the precious girls forehead, "Just rest for now, she'll be in later to visit with you."

"When, Daddy?" The excitement in her voice could not be contained and she tried to sit up. John leaned in and helped push pillows behind the girls back so she wouldn't exert so much energy. It was amazing how children could bounce back, but seizures were one thing that people were said to recover from quickly.

"She working right now, but she'll be by soon, I promise."

The girl squealed in anticipation before looking around. John sat down on the stool next to the bed, his hand not leaving his daughters leg. "Where are we?" Her voice was cautious, they had moved around a lot in the little time she had lived, but she had never seen this place.

"London."

"That's where you and Mommy met." He smiled and nodded. "Daddy, where's, um…" she put her hand to her mouth in thought, a gesture that she must get from her mother because he certainly never did it. Sara was working very hard to think of the name, but she couldn't seem to pull it from her memory so she substituted, "your friend."

Knowing his daughter as well as he did, John was able to pick up on her line of thought. "James?" Sara nodded suddenly and then stopped immediately, her head becoming dizzy. Passing the girl a worried glance, he let her deal with the new situation. "He's not here Sara."

"Well Daddy, where is he then?" John was saved by the door when he heard it open and the telltale clicks of her heels as she made her way to them. John was blocking the entrance to the infirmary with his body so Sara didn't see Helen and likewise until the woman was steps from the bed. Turning, John looked up at the woman who had her head buried in their daughter's medical chart. Her hair was pulled back loosely behind her head, but there was an errant strand that curled its way down her cheek. John wanted desperately to brush it away and behind her ear, but when Helen looked up to see the girl sitting before her, the shock in her eyes begged him not to.

Helen was struck by the exact similarity that this girl had to Ashley. It was like she was staring at her daughter dressed in a hospital gown after getting into a wrestling match with Henry and falling down the entryway stairs breaking her arm and splitting her lip open. Or when Ashley got too close to Chuck and his other half lashed out at her slicing her arm with a hidden weapon. Or when Ashley fell out of a tree that she had been dared to climb and sliced up her entire leg causing a great bloody and crying mess.

Helen stood, silent staring at the girl in front of her, images of Ashley flashing through her brain. The girl lifted her face up to see the woman she had been waiting to meet and cried, "Mommy!" She was completely oblivious to the turmoil her mother was experiencing.

Helen turned immediately right around and walked out the room. She stopped on the other side of the doorway leaning against the wall breathing heavily. The tears were leaking from her eyes as she shut the lids tight trying to keep them in, throwing her head back hoping to allow gravity to bring the salty drops back into her eyes. John was before her in seconds grabbing her shoulders and dragging her tense body into his chest. He rubbed her back in a soothing manner whispering soft words into her hair. She started to gasp as breathing became harder and harder with the force of her sobs. She couldn't breathe; her body shook as it dragged in as much air as was possible. John pushed her away from her, moving his face directly in front of hers, "Helen, I need you to breathe. Come on now."

She only shook her head, trying to calm down but failing miserably. "I—I can't." Her eyes flashed to the door, she meant breathe and go back in that room. Both were impossible for her at the moment.

"Helen, focus. Focus on me." His hands slid up to cover her cheeks forcing her face to look at him. Her chest started to calm in its abrasive rising and her eyes continued to lock with his for longer periods of time. When he felt she was wound down enough, he let go of her soft skin and stood straight stretching his back muscles.

"Sorry."

"Don't be." She watched his face closely; she did love this man, his kindness. This was John, the man she had fallen in love with, the one who had destroyed her heart all those years ago. "She needs you, Helen, she needs a mother."

Helen shook her head, "I can't…" She watched the door carefully as if she was waiting for it to explode and bring this entire chaotic situation to an end. But she knew that wouldn't happen. She knew she was going to have to walk into that room and talk to that child. The child she had already raised and yet had not. Slowing drawing air into her lungs until she was standing straight she looked back at the man before her, "Alright." Stepping away from him she made it to the entrance of the infirmary and placed her palm on the metal knob, twisting slowly, biding as much time as possible until she was face to face with a living ghost.

Walking into the room, Helen could see that the girl was playing with a ragdoll talking to her as if the doll were her own child, caressing and petting the fabric face. Her eyes glanced up to meet Helen's and immediately she looked back down at the toy in her lap with a sour look crossing her features. This could easily become a problem for the woman. "Hello Sara," her voice was soft and lilting as she moved to the side of the bed. "Mind if I sit?" The girl didn't answer so Helen scooted slowly onto the bed, giving the child time to object. "She's beautiful, what's her name?"

Ashley had never really found an interest in dolls or babies; Helen's old friend and kept the children fairly busy running around and helping him with the abnormals. She supposed a normal life outside the Sanctuary would have allowed for this in Ashley. "Beth." The child's words were held tightly.

Running a finger under a blonde wave of hair Helen quickly resigned to apologizing, "I'm sorry Sara. I didn't mean to frighten or worry you."

The girl held the hand of the doll tightly in her fist, fiddling with the fabric she found there. "It's ok, Daddy said you might cry."

"Well, Daddy was right." Brushing the hair behind the girl's ear, the woman leaned away only to find John standing next to her, his chest now brushing her back and shoulder. She looked up at him and he could see the tears in her eyes.

"You don't love me… because of Ashley."

"No, no, no. I love you sweetie, I love you very much." Her hand reached out to the child's causing the girl to look up at her face. "I love you. I'm just sad because of Ashley." Sara nodded in understanding, but she didn't know what to do, especially when her mother leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Because she died?"

Helen nodded, the tears returning and slipping over and down her cheeks. "Yes." A whisper, breathed as a prayer. "Yes, because she died." Helen hadn't expected John to tell the girl about Ashley, especially when he hadn't been a part of their first daughter's life. "But I love you, don't ever forget that." The girl gave a slight smile and crawled into Helen's lap throwing her arms around the woman's neck and smashing her face against her skin.

"I love you too Mommy." Helen began to rock back and forth holding the small girl in her arms. She looked up at John who placed a hand on her back in silent support.

Waiting a few moments until the tension in the room began to disperse, Helen finally spoke to the girl. "I need to take some of your blood is that okay?" The child nodded her head and held her arm out. Helen brushed her fingers over the soft skin.

"Looking for scars?" His voice was deep and close to her ear, he hadn't wanted their daughter to hear.

"In a manner of speaking; rather, looking for the lack of them." Smiling to the girl, she leaned over to grab a needle off a nearby tray and began to draw the blood. Her phone buzzed in her pocket as she placed the cap back on the medical instrument. Pulling the phone out she saw that it was Will, she should probably take it. Looking up to find John staring at her curiously, she shrugged, "Home." Placing the child back on the bed she stood and walked out into the hallway with the phone in one hand the sample in the other.

Sliding the virtual unlock on the screen she placed it to her ear, "Hello."

"Hey, everything ok? Declan said there was an emergency."

She hummed and pushed her tongue into her cheek, "It's Sara; she's having seizures."

"Do you know why yet?"

"I think it's a reaction to the genetic tampering, but according to John they keep getting worse as she ages. I just took another sample and I'll be sure when I run a few more tests."

"Alright then, I'll let you get to it."

But she didn't want to hang up, she wanted to keep talking to him because he was a calming force to be reckoned with and after seeing a living ghost of Ashley she really needed the grounding. "What's been going on there? Nothing serious I hope."

"Uh…" he paused wondering why she wanted to continue a conversation, but he would oblige her. "Henry went into anaphylactic shock last night when he was trying to feed the nubbins. I think his allergies to them are beyond the working around phase. I've arranged to have all the nubbins transferred to New York."

"Good, good. I should have done that ages ago."

"It's fine they'll be gone in a few days, just waiting for Kate to get back from Mexico to make the arrangements to try and leave Henry out of the loop."

"Good idea on that. How's he doing?"

"Missing his regular doctor—he says the Big Guy hurts when he gives shots."

She smiled at that, "Well tell him that I'll have my old friend be his regular doctor if it makes Henry more cooperative with me."

Will smirked at that as Henry reached for the phone and tore it from his hands, "It's only blood and needles, that's it Doc. I swear you can do anything else you want to me just no blood and no needles."

"I'm sure Henry, but it seems you squirm with everything, always have and you always will." She grinned as she could see him and Will fighting over the phone as they were walking down a hallway or possibly sitting in the library or Will's office. "Glad you're well, Henry." She called out, knowing full well that if she was heard it was probably not by Henry.

"I'll tell him when he escapes his new assignment." Will glared at Henry who was standing away from him. "How's Declan?"

"I haven't seen him yet, actually. I've been busy in the lab."

"That bad?"

"Whatever gives you that idea?"

"If it weren't that bad you would have emerged for tea or food, and without the Big Guy to bring it to you that means you've gone without eating for almost an entire day now."

She huffed at the comment; she'd eaten, right? "I don't know what you are referring to." She was teasing him and that was good sign, her shoulders and muscles were relaxing and her chest was losing its constrictive quality.

"Yeah sure, Magnus." She could almost see him rolling his eyes. He took a deep breath and shooed Henry out of his office, shutting the door behind the man's retreating form. He was quiet when he spoke, not quite sure where he stood with her but he still felt the need to speak. "I miss you; it's lonely around here without you."

She smiled and looked down at the vial in her hand hiding her eyes from anyone who might see. She missed him too, but she was above telling him that. He would be able to infer it from her silence—at least she hoped he would. "I should be home soon." Just in case he didn't understand the quiet pause she gave. "And I've only been gone for two days."

"I know, I just got used to you hanging around with nothing to do I guess. Not running all over the world anymore."

She rolled her eyes as an answer, even though he couldn't see it. "I have to get back to the lab, few more tests to run and all that." She was uncomfortable with where the conversation was heading; he knew it and she knew it. It was the most he would ever get out of her and he expected nothing more.

"Alright. I'll see you soon."

"Goodbye, Will." Pulling the phone away from her ear she ended the call, her eyes lingering on the screen with a smile gracing her lips. That had been a good choice for her, she was glad she had allowed herself the pleasure of becoming his lover. Now onto the labs she needed to run. She set the sequences to run and decided to head upstairs to the kitchens, just to prove that the situation was not as dire as it seemed to be.

She had finished running the tests by early evening. Her conclusion was that the seizures were indeed caused by the genetic manipulation that Whitcomb had performed and that sadly there was little Helen could do, except medicate the child correctly and heavily. She had made the necessary prescriptions and had given them to the Doctor the London Sanctuary employed, neatly avoiding the tiny and confining infirmary and making her way to Declan's office.

He was sitting at his desk with stacks and stacks of paperwork overflowing from the wood to the floor and to the bookshelves. It was almost comical in the amount of work that was piled around him. "Honestly, Declan, I don't know how you get any work done in here."

He grinned looking up at her, "Well, if I wasn't just a human, it would probably all be done by now."

"Nonsense," her lips quirked in response, "you just need to learn to delegate."

"I thought that's what I was doing when I brought you here." He stood and grabbed a stack of papers and dropped them heavily into her waiting arms. "I don't have a protégé, you're it."

She frowned slightly in response before moving to a nearby couch and coffee table to begin. "Perhaps you should get one," She stated absently.

"Ah, love, that's what you are."

She snorted, "Hardly. Going from head of the network to an underling, I'm far more valuable than that." She opened a file and began reading. "This is from three weeks ago!" He could hear the disappointment seething from between her teeth.

"Yeah, I know, got a bit behind."

"Obviously." The conversation died away as both focused on the work at hand. Magnus easily finishing twice as much work as the man who was in charge, but she didn't mind. It was actually rather relaxing to have a mundane task to keep her occupied.

Within two days Magnus had Declan caught up on all his paperwork and had diverted a 'major crisis' between him and the Heads of House. Sara had not had a seizure in two days, which according to John was a record. She was planning on telling him to leave that night, before the Heads had a chance to regroup; Declan had kindly not spoken about the entire situation and had not submitted his report either, in order to buy her a little more time. Helen had not been down to visit Sara since she had first arrived. She was not avoiding, she was only busy helping in another capacity. At least that's what she told herself. Will told her blatantly that she was evading which she pointedly denied. John had not left Sara's side since arrival, thus she had not seen him either.

Helen was wandering around her old home in the middle of the night as was her custom when she heard a noise behind her. She was just leaving the second level of the residential wing when she spun around to find Sara standing with sleep filled eyes, blanket and doll in hand staring at her. Taking a deep breath and moving her hand away from the gun she had reached for, Helen let her voice take on a tender quality. "Sara, love, is everything alright?"

Sara shook her head vigorously and began crying. The woman and the girl had a stand-off; Helen desperately wanted to go to her, but couldn't bring her body, her legs to cooperate with what her brain was screaming at them to do. Finally her knees collapsed under the confused signals and Helen came to be level with the child who rushed forward in an instant to be encompassed in her mother's warm embrace. Helen stroked the girl's hair and back soothing the sobbing child, pressing lips to her cheek and head. Hiccupping, Sara spoke, "I had—" Hiccup, "a bad dream." Hiccup. "And I couldn't—" Hiccup, "find Daddy." A little warning bell went off in the back of Helen's head, but her first priority was to calm the child. John could have simply stepped out to catch his breath for a moment, God knows, he had been catering to the child every waking second.

"It's alright, darling," Helen leaned back to look the girl in the eyes. She looked so much like the two of them, her and John; there was no denying that the girl was theirs. "Want to stay with me tonight?" Sara nodded her head and Helen picked up the small form placing the girl on her hip and wrapping arms securely around her while Sara rested her face on her mother's shoulder drawing in her scent.

Sara tucked her dolly into her chest and made a grab for Helen's dark locks. "You had yellow hair in the picture."

Helen was only slightly taken aback before she could formulate a reply. "I colored it." She began to move towards the stairs that would take her to her rooms. The girl would be too big for her to do this for much longer, but Helen was secretly enjoying having her child so close again. Sara's own hair was blonde and a curly mess the way Helen's own had been as a child and Ashley's before they grew older. Ashley's had straightened out when she decided to cut it all off, shaved the hair down to a mere inch before letting it grow out again. Helen's had stayed curly, but had also kept it long her entire life, although the tightness of the curls had diminished with time.

Helen had made it to her rooms during her musings and Sara had most certainly calmed, but she wasn't about to give up this opportunity. She pulled down the covers and slid the child into them before tucking her in. "I'll be right back; I'm just going to get changed." Brushing a finger over the girl's cheek Helen quickly dressed into silk nightclothes before slipping in next to her daughter.

Sara turned on her side, still clutching her blanket and dolly close and looked at her mother. "Daddy says he likes you better with yellow hair."

"Really? Why's that?"

"He says that I look more like you then." Helen imperceptibly shuddered at that. She could imagine John saying just that. She didn't answer the girl, only waited for her to continue or fall into slumber. "Do you love Daddy?"

Helen pressed a kiss to the child's forehead, giving her time to formulate a response, she could lie, easily, but she had made the decision not to. "Yes."

Sara was playing with the locks of her hair again, her fingers gently twirling the softness around her fingers, only tugging accidentally and on occasion. "Then why don't you live with us."

Taking a deep breath Helen asked, "What does your father say?"

"That he hurt you."

"He did."

"That he loves you."

"He does."

"Did Daddy not tell you sorry? For hurting you?"

Could it really be that simple? In the eyes of a child, perhaps it could. Had John apologized for everything? No he had not, but would she accept his apology even if he did? She had no idea, either way she would never be with him in that manner again. What to tell Sara? Her voice was soft and breathy when she answered in truth, "No he didn't." It only became stronger when Helen fought to change the subject. "Why don't you rest, darling? Close your weary eyes, I'm right here, I won't leave." Sara nodded, but didn't close her eyes. She eventually drifted off to sleep because of exhaustion, as did her mother hours later.