Chapter 3

"Will."

If he hadn't known better, he might have sworn it was only the wind that echoed softly through the dark, endless halls of the Sanctuary, but the sound was unmistakable. Her voice was airy and sweet, almost ethereal as it flowed to his ears. Helen was calling out to him from somewhere deep inside the darkness. He was still for a moment, listening closely, trying to determine from where the sound was emanating. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at all.

"Magnus? Where are you?" he called out into the dark.

"Will!" Helen's voice came again, this time louder and sounding distressed.

Will's heart was thumping loudly in his chest as he called out once more, noting that the emergency lights were apparently not working. Only soft pools of blue moonlight saved the hall from complete blackness. It was unusual for the Sanctuary to lose auxiliary power. Whatever was happening must be very bad.

Helen started calling out to him again and he could swear she must be crying. Will tried desperately to navigate the corridors, but the voice seemed to be coming from all directions. Adrenaline was pumping hard through his veins as Helen's voice became more frantic with each passing second. He came to a dead stop at the end junction of the hall and tried to get a grip on his thoughts. He had to pick a direction and knew with absolute certainty he couldn't afford to be wrong.

Just then, a blood curdling scream resounded through the hall and Will's blood ran ice cold. Without a second's pause he broke into a sprint, his heart pounding so hard he thought it might burst!

"Help! Will!", she cried.

"Magnus!", he called at the top of his lungs.

If he didn't know any better he'd swear the corridor was stretching out in length, preventing him from ever reaching its end. Will was now hyperventilating as he felt her being pulled further away from him. The sound of her voice was fading, as if it were being swallowed up by some unknown force. He continued to push his body harder, not daring to look back at the dark presence trailing close behind. The moonlight was disappearing fast. His limbs were growing heavy as he struggled against the encroaching darkness, pulling him down into black. He felt like he was falling.

Slowly, Will became aware of something soft beneath his body and was surprised when another voice suddenly pierced the darkness.

"Hello! Earth to Will!

Will awoke suddenly, greeted by a killer head rush and a very annoyed Kate standing at the foot of his bed. He groaned and closed his eyes shutting out the harsh sun. His head was in a tail spin and his body covered in cold sweat.

"Come on already. You're late for the staff meeting!" she huffed.

He choked out a startled cry when he felt a pair of jeans pelt him in the face.

"Hey!" Will shot up in his bed and caught a t-shirt Kate threw him in much the same way.

He peeled the shirt off his face and glared at Kate's retreating figure.

"Come on. Chop, Chop William!" She called back over her shoulder before disappearing down the hall.

Will grunted and let his body fall back onto the bed for a minute. Normally, he would be panicking about sleeping through his alarm. He knew, however, that after last night he had truly needed the sleep and honestly wasn't feeling too apologetic about it. It was just too bad the sleep he got hadn't been very restful. With all the extra stress he'd been under the past few weeks, it was no wonder he was starting to have mood swings, not to mention weird ass dreams. He was just starting to drift off once again, when a voice shattered his blessed silence like a slap to the face.

"Will!" yelled Kate.

"Yeah. I'm up!" He called back.

As Will groggily forced himself out of bed and started to get dressed, he couldn't help but think that Kate was getting way too comfortable barging into his room. Thinking of ways he could teach her a lesson, a mischievous little grin found its way to his lips. Maybe if he started sleeping naked above the covers she wouldn't be so quick to come charging in anymore. Granted, there was no guarantee that next time she would be the one to find him. He never did know exactly who might need to rush past his threshold in the middle of the night; this was the Sanctuary after all. He wasn't all that keen on the idea of accidentally giving Henry or the Big Guy a free show, as amusing as that might be. Magnus, however... He started to picture what her reaction might be to finding her protégé stretched out completely nude above the covers of his bed. His punchy smile grew wider as he finished buttoning the fly of his jeans.

All eyes fell on Will when he finally sauntered through the office door a full fifteen minutes late.

"Sorry I'm late." He mumbled as he made his way over to the group.

He did his best to avoid direct eye contact with anyone, especially Kate, as he walked past the couch and slipped into an empty armchair next to Magnus. Will braced himself for the scolding he was surely about to receive, but was surprised when it didn't come. He raised his eyes to meet Helen's. She raised her brow as if challenging him to break the silence first, to launch into some lengthy and pathetically weak excuse for why he was late. He knew this game well and instead opted for silence and continued to hold her gaze, offering up what he hoped read as sincere remorse with his tired eyes. The steel blue orbs staring back fixed him with a glare that spoke of punishment, but luckily for poor Dr. Zimmerman they also held compassion. With just one look, she managed to convey her sympathy for his weary state as well as admonish his unprofessional behavior. Message obviously received, Magnus gave him a curt little nod and turned back towards the group to continue the meeting. Will let out a long, slow breath once it was clear she wasn't going to launch into a lecture. Kate, Henry, and Biggie were all momentarily taken aback by this unexpected show of mercy and exchanged suspicious looks. Will noticed this and hoped to whatever gods were out there they would find something else to obsess about for the rest of the day. Magnus cleared her throat and all quickly returned their attention to the business at hand.

As the meeting wore on, Will's mind began to wander. He thought about the previous night's little run in as Magnus continued to rattle off the team's assignments for the week. He remembered looking down into her eyes and the brief flash of fear he saw there. Maybe it wasn't much to go on, but something just didn't feel right. It took a lot to rattle Helen Magnus. Granted, she hadn't really been herself since Carentan so he should probably be grateful for any new sign of life. He hated that she was still blaming herself, but thanked God that she was at least acting more like herself again. He even saw her break a little smile when the Big Guy smacked Henry over the head when he made a slightly inappropriate comment about one of the new residents having a crush on Kate. If it weren't for the faintest violet beneath her eyes, not even Will would have guessed that she hadn't been sleeping, at least not any less than usual. His intuition, however, wouldn't shut up that something was wrong.

After the meeting was over, Will hung back to talk to Magnus. It took a minute for her to realize he was still in the room as she gathered her files from the coffee table and walked to over to her desk. She didn't hear him walking across the room and was slightly startled to find him standing across from her.

"Oh Will." she said steadying her breath.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you…again." he said apologetically.

"It's quite alright. I guess I have been a little distracted as of late."

"I'd say that's an understatement." he countered.

She paused for a second noticing that he was studying her with a worried look on his face.

"Was there something you needed?"

"I …uh, just wanted to apologize for being late this morning and to thank you for taking pity on me. You didn't have to do that."

When she didn't say anything right away, Will started to question the wisdom in bringing up the subject; maybe he should have just left well enough alone.

"I saw no reason to make a fuss when there were more pressing matters to focus on. You know well enough how I feel about promptness." She said a little dismissively.

"Besides, your discretion did save me from a day of constant hovering by my dear old friend." She cracked a little smile at that.

Will relaxed a little when it was clear she wasn't angry.

"Big Guy that bad, huh?"

"Oh, you have no idea." Helen let out an exasperated sigh.

"I guess that sort of makes me your hero, then doesn't it?" He teased her.

Magnus gaped at him somewhat incredulously, but quickly caught onto his game. A suggestive smile spread across her face and Will knew he was in trouble. He watched silently as she walked slowly around the desk, trailing two fingers across the polished wood as she moved. She stopped in front of the desk just inches away from Will.

"You know what would really make you my hero?" She crooned.

Will gulped. He tried desperately to stop the blush creeping to his cheeks as his mind played back the inappropriate images he'd conjured earlier that morning. He knew she was only playing with him and he wasn't going to let her win that easily.

"Why don't you enlighten me?" He said as he took a step forward causing her to back up into the desk.

Without missing a beat, she placed one hand against his chest and held the back of his neck with the other as she leaned in, bringing her mouth close to his ear. He felt her hot breath as she whispered. "Getting all your paperwork turned in by five o' clock."

She let go of him and flashed him a victorious smile as he took a step back. He let out the giant breath he'd been holding and watched her suppress a giggle.

"Oh, you see, that is so not fair." He whined.

"Poor thing." She replied with a mock pout on her lips.

Will sat at his desk laboring over stacks of paperwork for the rest of the morning. Even though, it was admittedly his most despised task, updating files and writing up reports seemed almost palatable today. Almost being the key word. It had been a long time since he and Magnus had gone for a round of flirtatious verbal sparring and it felt ridiculously good to experience it again. She'd been so cold the last couple weeks and he hadn't realized just how much it was affecting his demeanor as well.

A growling in his stomach snapped Will back to reality. He hadn't realized it was already past noon. With that in mind, he started clearing up the loose files on the desk so he could go get some lunch. Just then he noticed the small colorful note sticking to his computer screen. It simply read 'Call Abby'. He knew he shouldn't put it off any longer, so he decided he'd head into the city for lunch today and give her a call then.

Will had been going a little stir crazy lately. He told himself that a change of scenery, even for just an hour, would probably do him some good. As much as that was true, it also had something to do with the fact that lately he just didn't feel very comfortable talking to Abby at the Sanctuary. He didn't want her dropping by and he didn't even like speaking with her on the phone unless he was absolutely sure no one else was around. Things were still very awkward between them and he didn't need everyone noticing. If Kate saw the two of them she'd never leave him be until she dragged absolutely every last detail out of him and he was so not ready to deal with that. Besides, Will was also the only member of the team that was currently in a steady romantic relationship and he didn't want to shove it in anyone's face, or at least that's what he told himself. Neither Magnus nor Henry had seemed very happy when he and Abby had walked in on their quiet dinner half naked a couple months ago. Thinking back, it had been a really insensitive move, especially considering Henry's girlfriend Erica had just turned down his proposal. Ever since then, Will had taken care to avoid meeting Abby directly at the Sanctuary and usually called her when he was out and about alone.

Henry was walking beside Magnus with his computer tablet in hand chatting excitedly about his new weapons developments as Will approached them in the foyer.

"On your way out, Will?" asked Magnus.

"Yeah. I figured I'd go out for lunch today and run a few errands while I was at it."

"Alright then. I'll see you later."

Henry, fully immersed in his own world at the moment, didn't fully register Will's comment until he all of the sudden remembered something. "Hey Will…" he began to call out just as Will opened the front door and nearly collided with the delivery man preparing to knock.

"Whoa! Sorry man. I wasn't expecting anyone to be there."

"No worries sir. I've got a delivery here for a Dr. Helen Magnus." The man read the name off of an electronic tablet.

Just as Will motioned for the young man to come inside, Helen walked up beside him. The delivery man's jaw dropped a little in surprise as he looked her up and down. Will bit down on the inside of his cheek a little to keep from laughing. This happened more often than anyone would know. Helen seemed oblivious to the effect she was having on the drooling delivery man as she introduced herself.

"I am Helen Magnus." She offered with a polite smile.

Will loudly cleared his throat to alert the man that he was staring. That seemed to snap him out of it. Professional façade back in place, Mitch, according to his name tag, leant down to pick up his parcel which was still on the front step just out of Will's line of sight. As he stepped through the door he extended forth a large bouquet of bright orange tiger lillies in a crystal vase. Will took the flowers so Magnus could sign for her delivery. She thanked the young man as she handed the tablet back to him. He tipped the brim of his cap and gave her a wink before walking back out towards his truck. Both Will and Henry smiled at each other knowingly and tried not to laugh. Will handed Helen her flowers and decided to casually hover just a moment longer.

"So who are the flowers from?" Henry blurted out before Will could.

"I don't know. There's a card here."

Helen opened the small white envelope attached to the bouquet to reveal a bright red card. Her brow furrowed as she stood there silently staring at the note.

"So?" Will broke the silence.

"It doesn't say actually. The only thing written here is Thank You." She explained a little confused.

Will didn't know why, but this anonymous gift made him very nervous. Little did he know, Magnus was feeling quite the same.