"Russia." Henry was so proud of himself that he was smugly grinning when he burst into Magnus' office. "Specifically Moscow and it only took me fifteen hours this time!"
Magnus looked up from braiding Sara's hair and stopped Henry with a look before he spoke any more. She did not want Sara to be worried and thus was keeping a tight lid on what the girl knew. "Sara, why don't you get see if Will needs any help with the feedings today?" The girl nodded gleefully and left the room at a skip—it hadn't taken her long since she finally opened up to Biggie to begin to open to everyone else in her mother's life: in particular, the man in her mother's life.
"Sorry, Doc." She waved off the apology and motioned for him to continue. "Ok, so it's coming from Moscow, but I haven't had time to narrow it down any further than that. It could be coming from the city or just outside of it."
"Alright, I want you to analyze the video more and try to figure out exactly how they are hacking into our systems. That last one means they've been doing it for months. I have a lead on one of Whitcomb's labs that might have a few computer parts left in it. One of the mission teams is out there collecting it so you'll have to go through that too. I can send some of it to London to ease your load a bit if you want."
"I'd rather do it myself." Her head tilted to the side at his statement, attempting to reason out why. He finally had pity on her and answered. "She's family—I don't like it when people mess with family."
Helen ducked her head and smiled in response. Henry had grown into a lovely and wonderful man. He was so different from the shy child she had known. "Alright." He left the room and she remained sitting. Moscow, now that was a new and interesting development that could quite complicate matters. Vladic, she should contact him to see if he had any contacts that would be useful to her. Setting that mental note aside, she began to work on the daily files that Will had been slipping her the past few weeks since she'd returned from London.
Helen quickly typed Will's username and password into the computer as soon as she reached her desk, determined to finish all the paperwork before he arrived for lunch. They had discussed eating together with Sara, to give her the opportunity to ask about them if she wanted. Sara's lessons were coming along fairly well, she was quick learner even though she was still years behind where any eight or nine year old should be, but she was by far ahead of any 8 month old that Helen knew of. Slipping easily into work mode, Helen tuned out her thoughts and focused only on the paperwork set before her.
Will slowly made his way into her office as Sara bounded through the room excitedly running around Helen's desk waiting for her mother to finish what she was doing before she would begin her explanation of the last few hours of her life that her mother had missed. It was sadly reminiscent for Helen; Ashley used to do the exact same thing when she couldn't burn off her excitement. Sara chattered loudly and quickly while the three made their way down to the kitchens.
Will had decided on what to make for lunch and he was very pleased with himself for it; it was his specialty after all. Heating up the skillet and pot he dumped the can of tomato soup into the pot and began to butter slices of bread. Helen was talking animatedly with Sara about some of the abnormals of which she had questions about that Will wasn't able to answer or had easily avoided answering. Sara was quick to ask a multitude of queries. Helen stood and wrapped her arms around Will after making sure no one else was in the room with them. She placed a soft kiss on his neck before looking over his shoulder at what he was cooking, "Grilled cheese." Her voice held a certain degree of disdain in it.
"It's comfort food and amazingly delicious." He sounded very unapologetic in his reasoning.
"Need a vegetable." She squeezed him once before making her way to the fridge to look for the appropriate veggie to add to their meal.
Will scoffed, "That's what the tomato soup is for." Helen's eyes slid over to lock with his, she gave him a look that said 'you're-not-going-to-win-or-change-my-mind-on-this-matter.' Giving up, he shrugged, "There's broccoli in there." Her nose scrunched in response as she reached for some celery. "I saw that look."
Feigning innocence she set the celery stock on a cutting board to be chopped into smaller pieces, "I don't know what you are talking about."
"Uh huh." He pulled the now crispy sandwiches off the skillet and slid them onto the plates she had set out for him. By the time the soup was spooned she had celery cut and plated for all three of them. She picked up two plates and moved to the table in the corner of the room placing a plate in front of Sara and sitting next to the girl. The meal passed and Magnus glared at Will until he ate the horrid green things gracing his plate in protest.
The day passed without any further developments, the mission team had returned with the computer parts for Henry, although after he took one look at them there was a hopeless feel that permeated the air and wouldn't dissipate in his lab. Helen tried to keep the sense of it away from her and away from Sara. She took the afternoon off and brought Sara the New City Library where they were having a reading for children by a local author.
They had returned just after dinner, having already stopped to get food while out and about. They had also gone clothes shopping, as Sara's quick growth was becoming harder and harder to keep up with. Magnus had stocked up on jeans and shirts for the next two months; at least she hoped she had. After putting Sara to bed, Magnus returned to her office to work.
She hadn't been there long before Henry called her and Will down to his lab to fill them in on his newest discovery. "Ok, So I figured out that they didn't hack our system by any conventional means. They somehow managed to get a password and used that to access our systems." Helen rocked back on her heels; that was not good news. Lots of individuals had passwords to the camera system as it wasn't a major one that she wanted to keep confidential and the ability to access them crossed over to all the Sanctuary's in the network. "Basically, someone added a non-existent user to the system and that's what the Cabal have been using to access the cameras. I haven't been able to determine who added the user yet."
"And how did they add this user, only a Head of House can do that?"
"I haven't figured that one out either; they looped around the system several times to hide everything. I changed the security protocols and deleted the user so that shouldn't happen again, but there's something else you should see." Henry pulled up the video footage in the last email and clicked on the bookmarked part to what he wanted to show her.
Again Magnus watched Sara playing outside and smiling, but Henry hit the pause button. Zooming in and onto a figure in the background, he adjusted the focus so she could make out the form of none other than John Druitt. "Sorry Doc." Henry looked at the woman waiting for her reaction.
"I should have known he was involved. England, and then Russia. The non-existent user, he probably did it from my computer." Clenching her fist she turned sharply and left the room saying over her shoulder, "Henry, send those protocols to all heads, and make sure all Sanctuary's keep their EM shields raised." When Henry looked at Will, who was still technically the Head of House, for confirmation on what to do the man nodded his approval before following Magnus down the hallway and to the elevator.
Will caught up with her just as the doors to the elevator were closing. He slipped into the tiny confined space and felt the wave of anger hit him full force. She was furious. "I should never have trusted him, never have let him take her. God, how could I be so stupid? Every time this happens, every time he goes back on his word." She was walking from one end of the tiny room to the other, her arms crossed over her chest one minute and then flailing in anger the next. It was a wonder she didn't accidentally hit him.
"Magnus." She didn't answer him, or even acknowledge his presence. He tried her name again, only louder this time, "Magnus." Again the same result. Stopping her with hands on her shoulders, he spoke again, "Helen." Her eyes looked up to meet his, "You love him. It's not something that is easily rationalized. After he has been trustworthy these past few years you gave him a chance. You let him try and prove that he wouldn't screw it up again, and he did. It was a risk you took and one you can't take back. But Sara is safe. She is here, with us, and safe. That is what you need to remember."
She nodded sharply, but remained in his grasp. "It doesn't bother you?"
He took a moment to catch up with her, "That you love him?" She nodded her head. "No, if you didn't still feel something for him, then it would bother me. Love that deep and strong is not something you can feel once and then never again. I do wish you would stop letting him walk all over you, though, but that's a conversation for another time."
"You're sure?" she was so insecure that it was almost adorable to Will, he never saw her this unsure.
"Yes, I'm sure. It's obviously been a point of contention between you and past relationships."
She closed her eyes, "I haven't had many past relationships, Will. Lovers I have had, but certainly not relationships and yes, it has come to be a problem in all of them."
"All of them? Even Watson?" She sharply turned hers eyes to his face. He only grinned, "You didn't think I knew did you? Psychiatrist, remember? A keen observer of human nature. I saw the way you and he acted, indicative of a strong and lasting relationship that has had many ups and downs."
She took a steadying breath before speaking, "James was angry with me because I wouldn't tell him what had transpired between John and I. He knew something had occurred, but I refused to tell him what, exactly, had happened."
"I will never ask you to tell me what happened." His warm palm caressed her cheek and she leaned into the warmth.
"I know, because you already know what happened." He nodded his head not denying her statement. He did know, it was written all over her reactions the other night in the hallway and in the way she acted whenever John was around. Even 130 years couldn't erase that.
"I don't need to know the specifics, they are not important." She actually had tears in her eyes when she looked at him, they were threatening to brim over and spill. She nodded and leaned in pressing her soft lips against his mouth.
She pulled back slightly feeling his breath wash over her, "Thank you." She pressed forward again and deepened the embrace. Her lips closed around his not allowing him to open his mouth. She flicked her tongue out over his lips tasting, savoring the flavor. The hand on her face slid down to her neck and tilted her body closer into his; his other fingers gripped her jacket just above her hip. She moved down his throat, soft kisses trailed over his flesh, "Make me forget tonight, William."
"That I can do, and by the way, why isn't the elevator moving?"
She jerked her head back suddenly looking at him and then around the elevator. They weren't moving. Trailing her eyes over to the buttons she realized she hadn't exactly told the elevator to move. "I, um, forgot to, um…" Her cheeks burned a light pink with embarrassment as she leaned away from his arms and pressed the button quickly, finally signaling the machine to move. "I had other things on my mind."
He tugged her body back into his, "How about I put some new things in that mind of yours?"
She kissed him again, letting the cool exterior she always wore slip back into place, "That would be much appreciated."
Hours later, Helen's form was wrapped around Will's sleeping body. She had forced him to put boxers on when she had slipped on a camisole and loose pants in case Sara arrived in the middle of the night. She had been doing that a lot lately, but this was the first time that Will had stayed the night since Sara had been back at the Sanctuary. And it was a good thing she had insisted because while Helen was laying her head on Will's shoulder while he slept she heard the door to her room creak open.
Sara's tiny form found its way to the side of the bed where she stood looking at her mother and Will. Helen watched her carefully, leaning up on a hand to indicate to the child that she was awake. Sara only waited a moment before she began to climb over Will and to the place in between them. Helen slid back to make more room for the girl. Sara's knee collided with Will's stomach and he grunted awake in a sudden movement. She pulled the girl quickly off of Will's body and back onto the mattress to relieve the pressure on his abdomen.
To Will's credit, he didn't do anything further. Instead he sat up and stroked Sara's curls, "Did you have a nightmare?" His voice was soft and full of sleep, the covers pooled around his waist. Sara only nodded in response, clutching her dolly close to her chest and looking at him, but her body faced her mother as she sat Indian style. "You know what the best part about this room is?" Sara shook her head and he stroked his hand down over it again. "Nightmares aren't allowed in here, so as long as you're here none of them can scare you." She nodded again and placed her head against his chest. He stroked circles on her back in a soothing manner. "Do you wanna talk about it?"
She nodded and began, "You and mommy were running away from scary people. They had things that came out of their mouths and made a really loud noise." Magnus tensed, but Will continued to soothe the child. He moved pulling Sara into his lap and leaned against the headboard, wrapping his hands around her small form. Sara picked at the dolls hair as she continued, "You were running to the lab and you had black spots all over your arms. Then you went away and left mommy and then men killed you."
"Well I'm right here, sweetie, I'm not dead." Will kissed the top of the girl's head. Sara nodded her head and curled deeper into his body. They stayed that way for some time until Sara finally fell back to sleep. Will slipped down and tucked Sara into his body. He lay on his back throwing a hand under his head and staring up at the ceiling. Helen was still rather unsettled but she lay on her side and threw an arm over the child and onto the man, curling her body protectively around the girl before trying to close her eyes and fall asleep.
The next morning arrived much sooner than she would have liked. Will was already out of the bed and showered by the time he shook her awake. Helen groaned as she squinted her eyes against the light from the bathroom. Droplets of water fell from his wet hair and onto her face when he leaned down to kiss her chastely. "It's a quarter till six."
"Hmmm, alright, I'm getting up." He pulled back the blankets for her, letting the cool air brush against her skin. Goose bumps rose up on her arms and she shivered as she swung her legs over the edge of the mattress. Will followed her into the bathroom, his fingers laced with hers and his front rubbing against her back as she walked.
He placed more kisses along the cord of muscle from her neck to her shoulder as she opened the door and moved into the smaller room closing it behind him to keep the light off her sleeping daughter. She turned and leaned against the counter pecking his lips again before pulling out her toothbrush. Will spoke quietly, "I've got a lot of work to do today, I don't know if I'll make it to dinner or when I'll be finished."
She locked eyes with him and nodded before spitting into the sink. She rinsed her mouth out with water before speaking, "Think you could find some time to stop by my office today though? It's about Sara."
"Yeah, I'll make time." He grabbed her head and pulled her lips to his, tasting the mint. She tangled her tongue with his and grabbed hold of his sides. Will moved away from her and pouted. "I have to go."
She smirked, "Fine then. Run away." She giggled and turned back to the mirror watching his retreating form.
Will stopped by her office just before lunch but she had been deep in conversation with Declan who had called about an abnormal they had gotten a lead about in Antarctica and needed some creative ideas on how to contain it for transport. He waved to her when he caught her attention and mouthed that he would try back later.
Later it turned out, was much later, technically not even that day. The clock in his office hit half past midnight just as he threw down the lid of his laptop and rubbed his hands over his face. Magnus had been leaning against his doorframe for the last fifteen minutes silently watching him. "I think you need sleep."
He turned at her voice and eyed her; she always looked pristine even after a field mission. He placed his hands back on his face and moved them roughly over his skin, feeling the hairs on his chin roughly scratch at his palms, "Tough day."
Helen walked into the room and hooked her arms around his neck where he sat. She kissed his cheek before resting her chin against the crown of his head for a moment. "Come on then." She turned the chair and pulled his hands until he was standing in front of her.
He kissed her lightly on the lips before they moved to leave his office and he realized he hadn't gotten back around to her. "God, I'm so sorry. I didn't stop by your office."
"It's fine; really, I know how busy it can be."
"But still—"
"Really, Will. If it was that important I would have come by and told you. We can talk about it tomorrow when you have more time. I was, however, talking to Declan today and we came up with a plan to capture this new abnormal he's discovered and is all giddy over. He will need some help though. It's in Antarctica, and I thought that since you and Kate have never been there you might like the opportunity to go with him."
"Yeah, I'd love it."
"I could take care of things while you're gone." She suggested.
"I have the utmost amount of confidence in you and your ability to run this place." He cheekily added at her statement.
She rolled her eyes, "Right then, you can sleep in your own room tonight."
"I was joking!" He grinned knowing that she was teasing him. They entered her room and changed before climbing into the bed; both too exhausted to do anything other than let slumber overtake their weary bodies.
The next day, three hours before Will left for his newest mission, Helen received another email. The video was of her and Will in the elevator and his office, of Sara alone walking down the hallway to Magnus' rooms at night. The only words that accompanied the pictures this time were, "Time is growing short, whore. She will be dead soon, better say your goodbyes."
Will and Helen got into a heated debate, he had wanted to cancel the mission to the bottom of the world and instead remain at home. Helen said it was an irrational fear that he had and she could most certainly take care of herself and Sara. She eventually won the argument and Will left albeit in a very sour mood. Helen finished the day much as she usually did, late into the night. She had held her anger in check while talking to Henry about once again updating the security protocols and why exactly the last upgrades hadn't been effective.
She was tired and frustrated. No new information had come out of the computers they had discovered, only further Cabal research that the network had already known about. Feeling a bit lonely having gotten used to Will in her bed, Helen went into Sara's room and scooped her daughter into her arms. The child never woke as Helen made her way to her own bed and covered her daughter with the blankets. Changing quickly, Helen slipped in behind her.
John found Sara, who had grown so much in his weeks of absence, in Helen's rooms. The mother was spooning her with a protective arm wrapped around their child, battle ready even in sleep. The thought made him smirk. Helen had always looked peaceful in slumber, but this night she did not. Her face was scrunched and her hair tangled in a mess.
"Is there anything in particular you want, John, or are you just going to stand there glowering all morning?" Helen's voice was harsh but quiet in the early morning rays. Thank God Will was gone on a mission. She had known the instant John had entered her room, and had decided to keep quiet, although the hand under her pillow was gripping her 9 mil tightly; the one she had tightly wedged between the mattress and headboard as soon as she had brought Sara home. Her old friend must have let him in, he had been gone when they had discovered him in the video and she hadn't been able to inform him.
"I killed her, Helen."
The woman lifted her head up to stare at him, her eyes piercing even in the lack of light. Looking down at Sara to satisfy herself that the girl was still sleeping, Magnus rose from the bed, gun in hand and moved to him. "Killed who?"
"Dana Whitcomb."