Chapter 15:
Several weeks came and went while Helen recovered. John took everyone back to the Vancouver Sanctuary after a week of everyone being in the hospital via teleporting. With Ashley's help, he kept Helen contained to her bed.
After days of arguing with John, Helen was finally allowed to sit at her desk. She was out of the leg casts; however, she had to use a cane to get around on her own. She often found herself escorted either by John, the Big Guy, or Tesla when he was around. The paperwork had piled up on her desk while she was forced to recover, despite Will's attempts at keeping up with it.
She glanced up as the door to her office opened. Her eyes narrowed at the intruder.
"Your zoo is a madhouse!" exclaimed Tesla as he waved a bottle of brand wine in the air.
"You know where the front door is, Nikola," Helen replied tersely without looking up. She scribbled her signature on the month's power bill, which was considerably high.
"And leave you alone to old Johnny boy's mercy? I don't think so!" He looked rather disgusted at the thought of leaving Helen and John in the same house.
"If you are worried about the security threat posed by John, you needn't. The EM field is active 24/7. Ashley seems to be keeping him stable. If you need to go on one of your mad science expeditions, you are free to leave whenever you like."
"Listen to yourself, Helen. You've grown irritable in your old age."
"And you've grown more irresponsible."
"Hey—I merely enjoy life. Oh, and you can tell your hirsute friend that his tea is horrible." With that, he walked out the door.
Helen released a heavy sigh as she rubbed her temples. She winced as she leaned over her desk. Her break was short-lived when the door opened for a second time.
Big Guy walked up to her desk, carrying a brown package and several letters. "Mail call," he grunted, setting the day's mail on Helen's desk.
"Oh, that must be the package I ordered." Helen smiled weakly as she opened the parcel to reveal a new laptop.
"Don't let Kate have that one."
Her smile widened before she forced a sour frown. "Yes, I think that I learned my lesson when she fried the last one."
"You got a letter from False Creek Elementary."
She quickly sobered up before opening the letter. She looked up at the Big Guy. "Do you think that Ashley is ready for public school?" Even as she asked, she sounded uncertain.
"She's smart," he grunted.
"There's no doubt about that." Helen smirked as she thought of her daughter's intelligence. "But what about the fact that she's an abnormal?"
"She seems to have moderate control, if that is what you are worried about."
Helen looked up at her manservant, searching for any sign that he was lying to her. Of course, she had noticed considerable improvement in Ashley's ability to retain control of the super abnormal abilities that the Cabal had packaged in her. So why am I doubting that she's ready?
"The choice is yours, Magnus." He grunted a couple times. "Have you taken your painkillers?"
"I'm perfectly fine—for the moment, at least." She forced a weak smile. "Thank you. You may leave now." She watched as he walked out of her office and closed the door. Her thoughts turned to the possibility of enrolling Ashley into False Creek Elementary. She had heard positive things about the school in reports, but she had doubts as to whether or not the school would be able to handle an abnormal such as Ashley.
After a short while, she placed the paperwork in a neat pile at the corner of her desk, and focused on other paperwork that had been put off while she was recovering from the giants in Scotland. She worked in silence through most of the afternoon, and well into the evening before being disturbed again. The door opened without the traditional knock.
She looked up to see John carrying a tray of food. After a closer look, she identified the food as a steak with fettuccine and a small salad on the side. Her eyebrows shot up, despite her heart fluttering.
"I thought you should eat," John explained as he took the paperwork away, and set the tray down on her desk. He glanced down at the folder with False Creek Elementary written on it. "Are you registering Ashley in school?" He looked her directly in the eye.
"I am considering it."
"Eat, Helen." He turned his back to her, pretending to thumb through the book spines on the shelf.
She cut a piece of the steak, and cautiously took a bite. Her face lit up as she focused on the juices and flavor of the meat.
"Mr. Zimmerman cooked for you this evening."
She continued eating in silence, all the while keeping her eyes on John. Every so often, her gaze drifted to the stack of papers from False Creek Elementary.
The silence was interrupted when the TARDIS noise played. Helen quickly reached for her cell phone. "This is Helen Magnus."
"Ah, Ms. Magnus, I'm so glad that I got a hold of you," said a relieved sounding man quickly.
"Who is this?" There was a hint of suspicion in her voice that she could not hide.
"Dirk Ackerman."
"How can I help you, Mr. Ackerman?" Helen reached in her desk for a spare sheet of paper and pen.
"Well—you are very renown for your work. There was a presentation on some of the today's most controversial scientific discoveries scheduled for Bellingham, Washington tomorrow evening at 6 at Fairhaven Village Inn. Would you be interested?"
"That all depends on what sort of things I would be talking about."
"Your work. Everyone who will attend is very well knowledgeable of what you research."
Her mind raced as she registered that a gentleman who she knew nothing about knew about her work at the Sanctuary. She exchanged a worried glance with John, and based on his facial expression, she concluded that he heard every word of what was exchanged over the phone.
"Ms. Magnus?"
His voice startled her, and she took a moment to compose herself. "I will get a presentation put together, and be there tomorrow."
"Great!—Glad to hear it, Ms. Magnus. I look forward to hearing what you have to say." With that, he hung up on her.
"Helen—I do not believe it is a good idea," said John.
"Which is precisely why I am going to ask that you accompany me," replied Helen. She sent off a quick text message.
"What about Ashley?"
"Will can look after her while we're away."
John clenched his teeth. "When do we leave?"
"Tomorrow afternoon." A tense pause built up in the room. Helen forced herself to her feet, grabbed her cane, and walked past John. "John—would you help me to my room?"
He hurried to her side, and supported her weight. The walk to her bedroom was silent. John dutifully opened the door, and proceeded to help Helen get undressed, into a silk nightgown, and into the four-poster bed set in the middle of the room. He was tense during the duration of helping her out of her work clothes and into something more comfortable for bed.
"My laptop is on that desk there—would you be so kind to get it for me?"
"It would do you good to get some rest." His voice was firm with determination to keep Helen from doing as little as possible.
"John—I have a presentation to put together." She sounded impatient, similar to a parent being cross with a child. "You should be happy that I compromised to getting into bed."
"You should be resting."
"This is resting."
"For you, perhaps. But the doctor ordered that you stay off your feet, and away from work."
"John—I want to find out how these people know about me and my work."
"It is likely a trap."
"I will have you with me."
"That is not the point."
"Just get me my laptop, John!" Helen, for the first time, sounded on the edge of anger. Her eyes flashed, and her expression brought them both back to when Helen was first forced to shoot John back in 1888.
"As the lady wishes." He walked over to the desk, and brought the laptop to Helen. He leaned in, and lightly brushed his lips over her forehead, whispering, "I will be right outside, should you need anything." He walked away before Helen could do anything.
She was left there, her heart fluttering. The place where John's lips had brushed her skin burned in a way that hadn't happened in over a hundred years. Several minutes went by before she could compose herself. She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind, and got to work.
Will was walking down the corridor the following morning when he got a call on his cell phone. Without looking at the caller id, he answered it. "This is Zimmerman."
"Will, could I see you in my office?" Helen asked immediately.
"Yea—I'll be right there." He hung up, turned around, and rushed to Helen's office.
Several minutes later, he knocked on the door.
"Come in."
He slid inside. Helen was sitting at her desk, filling out yet more paperwork. The stack was considerably shorter than it had been the morning before when Will had come by to see if he could get the funds to install a better forensics lab. "What did you need?" He walked up to the desk, where he stood, waiting for directions.
"I have a conference that I have to leave for shortly. I was wondering if you were up to watch over Ashley."
His eyebrows furrowed. "Yea—sure. But shouldn't you be in bed resting?"
"I am fine, Will," replied Helen with forced patience.
Will eyed her carefully. He crossed his arms over his chest as he observed her. "So—where are you going?"
"Bellingham."
"Uh huh…and how are you getting there?"
"John is teleporting me."
"Magnus, you should have Big Guy drive you."
"I am quite capable of taking care of myself, Will."
"I hate to be the one to break it to you, but last time you were with Druitt, you broke your legs and five ribs."
"John had nothing to do with that. I was irresponsible in my dealing with the giants."
"Could you at least take the Big Guy with you?"
"And what good will that do if John decides to lose control?" Helen snapped. "If he wanted to, John could kill me at any time he wanted."
"Just be careful, Magnus."
"Always am." She grinned at him. "Now, I am sure that you have other duties to attend to."
"Yeah—I'll just—get going now." He pointed behind him at the door as he backed out of the room.
He walked down the hall to the elevator. He nearly jumped back when he saw Big Guy step out.
"Henry wants to see you in his lab," Big Guy told him.
"Ok. Oh, could you keep an eye on Magnus?" He stepped inside the elevator.
Big Guy turned around and stopped the elevator from closing. "Is something wrong?"
Will blinked, slightly stunned by Big Guy's forwardness. "No—not really. I'm just—I'm just worried about her."
"Magnus knows what she's doing."
"I'm not so sure." Will watched as Big Guy walked down the hall and the elevator door closed.
After going to help Henry with a tiresome middle-aged woman, who insisted that Henry had wronged her by hacking into her computer, he walked in the direction of his private room. As he rounded the final corner, he bumped directly into Kate. He put his hand over his chin, where she had head butted him. "UGH!" he grunted.
"OW! Oh, damn it, Will!" groaned Kate as she rubbed her forehead. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah. What about you?"
"Next time I might just take you down." She looked up at him for the first time. "Hey, did you just come from Hank's lab?"
"Henry, you mean? Yeah, why?"
"Did he lay into that crazy old woman?" Kate sounded substantially interested.
"No. And she wasn't crazy. It was just a misunderstanding."
"Whatever you say, Will." Kate shrugged. She waved as she walked past him.
He watched her leave before continuing to his room. A single look at his bed was all it took him to collapse in the soft mattress. He groaned when his face hit the pillow. Very quickly after that, however, he lost consciousness.
The squeal of Ashley woke him some time later in the afternoon. He rolled over, opened his eyes, and still bleary-eyed, watched as Ashley jumped around his room. Probably Druitt's idea of a joke, he thought with a large dose of misery. He wiped away any sign of being exhausted, and quickly jumped to his feet. "Ashley, please stop jumping around in my room!"
She stopped for a second to look at him. "But Daddy said that I could," she whined, batting her blue eyes at him, before proceeding to jump around and squeal.
Will's jaw dropped open slightly. Did he hear her correctly? He must have because the next thing he knew, Ashley was on his bed, bouncing up and down on his mattress. He composed himself before saying, "If you don't start behaving now, I won't take you to the park." He crossed his arms over his chest, and did his best to give her a stern look.
"Yes! Yes! Yes! Park! Park! Park!" Ashley squealed. She had stopped jumping around, which Will took as a good sign.
He still had to wonder, though, if her parents had given her explicative amounts of sugar before setting her loose on him. "You have to behave, and do everything I tell you to though," he warned in a serious tone.
"Scouts honor!" She held up the crossed fingers of her left hand. Her chest was puffed out proudly.
"Uh huh," he muttered under his breath. "Well—before we leave, you need a coat and your shoes on."
Before he could finish, Ashley had zipped out of the room as fast as her short legs could carry her. He ran his hand through his curly hair as he walked to his closet to get his own jacket. When he opened his door, Ashley was already waiting for him.
He watched as she played on the swing set. That seemed to be all she wanted to do ever since they got to the park, and she was determined to swing without his help. A short woman with dark hair from across the park caught his attention. She seemed odd with her cloak, and hood covering most of her face. It seemed as though she were staring at him.
Just as it was starting to get dark, and Will struggled to get Ashley to want to go back to the Sanctuary, the mysterious looking woman slipped into the shadows, and appeared next to him.
"You work for Magnus, boy?" her voice was deep for her size. She only stood to Will's belly button.
"Who are you?"
"Give this letter to your boss." She handed him an envelope with 'Helen Magnus' written on it in an elegant handwriting that seemed alien to him.
He took the envelope, and when he blinked, the woman was gone again. He shook the thoughts he had from his head, and lifted Ashley up automatically.
A/N: Longer than average, I know. I had a lot of content to cover in this one chapter.