It had been two days since Helen made her full recovery. She was currently sitting at her desk, filling out all the paperwork from the most recent mission. She knew that Ashley was spending time with Will. Will had to be confined to a wheelchair; at least for now. He had argued with Helen, but she remained firm with her diagnosis.
A knock on her door interrupted her. She brought her eyes up to the door. "Come in," she called.
The door opened, and John walked in. "Helen," he greeted cordially.
"John." She watched him with care. "Is there something wrong?"
"I was only wondering when you are planning on redoing Ashley's room," replied John. He seated himself casually in the chair across from Helen.
Helen blinked. That's right, she thought to herself. She had made plans to make Ashley's room more acceptable for a seven-year-old girl. "Today, if time allows. I was just doing the paperwork on the mission from a couple weeks ago."
"That can wait," said John. "Or you could have Mr. Foss, or Ms. Freelander complete such tasks."
She sighed. Leave it to John to suggest such things. "Alright, but first I must do some shopping."
"Shall I leave you to get ready then?" asked John. He smiled mischievously.
"I will be out in a few minutes, John." Helen looked into his eyes.
"Very well. I will wait for you at the door then." He got up, and turned to leave her office.
Helen was left with her heart pounding, as she always was when John was around. Finally, after all these years, she could live her dream, and have a full family. Things had a chance to finally be right between John and her.
She stood, and walked out of her office. She strode down the familiar halls of her home, deeply immersed in her own thoughts. She nearly bumped into Henry on the way to her room.
"Doc!" he yipped.
"Henry!" Helen sounded equally surprised. She searched his facial expression. He was hiding something from her. "Is something the matter, Henry?"
"Actually Doc, I wanted to apologize." He sounded very putout about whatever it was that he was hiding.
"For what?"
"My recent behavior toward Ashley," admitted Henry sheepishly. He shifted his feet. "Forgive me for saying this, but none of it feels right to me. She just is not our Ashley. Doc, I've just learned to accept Ashley's death, and now she's a seven-year-old, dangerous little girl." He looked away from her.
Helen reached out, and squeezed Henry's shoulder. "I know, Henry." She sounded worn, and tired. She sounded more her age than normal, and that frightened Henry. "And I don't mean to put anyone in danger. Please understand that I only want my daughter back." She forced a smile, and continued to her room.
When she was finally alone in her own personal sanctuary, her body shook with the rush of emotion that she was feeling. Losing Ashley was the hardest thing she had ever endured. It was something that she had always had to face with her line of work, and her longevity. Now that she had her little girl back, she would do everything in her power to protect Ashley. She slid down her door, wrapped her arms around her knees, and cried.
She had no idea how long she stayed like this, but when she finally returned to her body, it was dusk. There was still shopping to be done, and she was not dressed for such an activity.
She went to her wardrobe, and shifted through her clothing. She found a dark v-neck sweater, and a pair of black slacks. For shoes, she found a pair of black boots without a heel. She quickly got dressed, and looked into the mirror.
Her eye make-up was smeared from her earlier tears. She touched it up. After one final look, she declared herself ready.
She again entered the halls of the Sanctuary. She found John waiting next to the front door. Her heart leapt to her throat. She composed her face so that he would not notice. She walked steadily closer to her ex-fiancé.
"You took longer than expected," chided John with a slight smile.
"I got caught up helping a patient," lied Helen. Her voice shook slightly.
"Of course," replied John calmly. "Shall we go then? I can have a car ready, or we could travel my way."
"I would prefer a car thank you. The things I plan on buying Ashley cannot be taken by teleportation in a single trip."
"Then wait here while I get a cab." John left with quick strides. His leather trench coat billowed out behind him.
Helen waited patiently for his return. His mannerisms reminded her of when they were young lovers. Despite everything they had gone through, the powers than be seemed to have a way of bringing them back together. She could never love another man as she had loved John.
She did not have to wait long, but it was enough to get a grip over her feelings. When John returned to her, he no longer wore his coat. Instead, he wore the more traditional gray collared, button up shirt, black slacks, and a pea coat.
She followed him when he beckoned. They walked in step down to the garage, where Big Guy was waiting for them.
"Magnus." The abnormal inclined his head to his boss. "Where to?"
"The mall in Victoria," instructed Helen politely.
"Alright," Big Guy grunted. He got into the driver's seat of the dark car.
John opened the door to the back seat for Helen. He motioned for her to get in first.
Helen sighed inwardly. Gentlemen were hard to find in this day, and age. They were a dying breed, so to speak. She slid into her seat, and waited for John to get into the car.
Big Guy started up the engine of the car, and slowly pulled out of the garage. He drove through New City with care. He was silent while Helen and John chatted idly.
"It seems that events have come full circle," commented John. He turned his attention from the window to Helen. There was something akin to pain in his eyes when he looked at her.
Helen felt pity for him. She knew his pain only because she had gone through the same agony when he had become Jack the Ripper. She had always heard that time could heal any wound. She knew that to be untrue. "So it seems," she replied softly. She secretly longed for his touch.
Perhaps it had been too long since she had known the touch of a man. Her last lover had been Ben. He had been dead for over ten years now.
She blinked the irrational feeling away. John was a killer, but he was also Ashley's father. Ashley would begin to ask questions when she got older.
"Helen?"
She blinked again when John's concern brought her back to reality. "Yes?" she half-purred. Dear God, what has come over me? Her own thoughts rang in her mind.
"What's wrong?" asked John. His voice was so full of worry that it reminded Helen of what once was between them.
The night that they had conceived Ashley was a special one. Gregory had just given his blessing for John to propose to Helen. It was only a couple weeks after the engagement had been made official. John had come over with flowers for Helen. It was a late spring night. They had shared a bottle of wine, and had made love. However, weeks later, John had changed so drastically that it had broken Helen.
The memories nearly brought tears of pain to Helen's eyes. She looked away from John. "Just memories," she muttered.
John took her hand in his. There was nothing intimate about the contact. It was merely companionship. He still cared very much for Helen. He was still deeply in love with her. And he could guess what memories she was talking about. "I know how much it hurts," was all he said.
Helen appreciated his compassion. She shivered at his touch. She gently pulled her hand away after a moment of solace.
They enjoyed each other's silent company for the duration of the ride. Helen retreated within her thoughts, while John hummed quietly.
After the hour-long trip, Big Guy pulled into the parking lot, and let them out of the car. He pulled away after they got out to find a place to park. "Call me when you're done," he instructed Helen.
Helen walked several paces ahead of John. She kept her guard up when they entered the mall. There was a small crowd of shoppers. It took some investigating for Helen to discover that there were several massive sales going on. She shared an irritated glance with John before walking into a toy store.
John found himself overwhelmed with the amount of toys readably available to children. He could not decide which ones to buy for Ashley. He did not even know what she liked. He browsed the merchandise.
"Helen, what do you think Ashley would be happy with?" he asked.
She could not help but to smirk at his helplessness. He had not had the chance of being a father before. "Dolls, stuffed animals, that sort of thing."
He nodded at her suggestion. He started grabbing every cute stuffed animal he could find: a cat, dog, teddy bears, a rabbit, and a kangaroo. He also grabbed a 1880s style porcelain doll that reminded him of Helen.
Helen focused mainly on children's books such as The Lion King, Pocahontas, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid¸ Peter Pan, The Beauty And The Beast, and Snow White. She turned to John when her arms were full of the books. "Are you ready to check out?" she asked.
"We should buy Ashley a proper bed, and a toy chest," replied John.
"There are other stores for that."
John nodded. He followed Helen to the checkout stand, and watched with a smoldering anger as she paid for everything. He knew that she had a large bank account, but that did not stop him from wanting to be the one to pay. He carried the bags through the mall. He followed her into another store filled with beds.
Helen picked out the bed. It was simple enough, but still elegant to match the rest of the Sanctuary. She paid for it, and had it sent out to the car. John was honestly impressed with how she had things done for her, and still held her dignity. For being a woman from the late 1800s, she was strong. She had to be for all that she has been through.
They walked through the mall again, but they did not find a shop with a toy chest. Eventually, they had to give up and go back to the car. John put everything into the trunk. It almost did not fit.
The following morning dawned with unrelenting brightness. Helen had not slept the entire night. When she had gotten home, Ashley was already sound asleep. She felt guilty for not spending much time with her daughter over the last few days. She found herself pacing back and forth in her office.
A knock interrupted her. She halted mid-step. "Come in."
The door opened, and Kate walked in. She blinked at Helen. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, Magnus," she said uncertainly.
"Not at all, Kate," replied Helen breathlessly. "What can I help you with?"
"It's Henry," murmured Kate. "He's hiding something from me. I know he is."
Helen sighed. She sat at her desk, and motioned for Kate to sit across from her. She waited for Kate to seat herself. "Henry has a lot on his mind right now. We all do at this point. You weren't around before, but Henry was quite close to Ashley, and when the Cabal got their hands on my daughter, it tore him to shreds."
Kate shook her head. "It's something more," she said.
"Let Henry open up to you in his own time," advised Helen. She waited for Kate to leave her office.