*Waves* Hi there! I want to thank all my reviewers and my beta Ari, without her advice I would still be staring at a blank page right about now… Once again I own nothing here, just the slight (but important!) differences in the plot.

And now campers… To OZ! (I watch WAY too much Stargate!) Lol

"Something very much alive is in control of the sanctuary." Fear spiked through Helen as she realized what they were facing. John looked guiltily at her before turning his gaze to the floor.

"It's violent, remorseless, relentless, and it won't give up ground without a fight. Think of it as facing me." He said loud enough for the others to hear. He looked sadly at Helen before breaking eye contact again.

"Once it has full control of this facility it will be unstoppable. It could easily spread to the city and beyond." Helen lowered the gun to her side; it was completely useless against the force they were facing. "Henry we need-."

"The defense protocols, you got it doc." Henry replied. "I just need to be able to feed it into the network."

"Which won't be easy." Helen bit her lip in frustration.

"Fill me in." Will demanded.

Helen looked at John. "Energy creatures often behave like viruses. They forge a parasitic relationship with whatever host environment they can invade." There was no doubt in her mind that John had not been in control of himself.

Moments later they had formed a plan and the intercom fell silent as they all tried to carry out their parts, the first of which included knocking out their individual security cameras as politely as possible.

Helen looked at their camera high up on the wall behind John and brushed passed him, her grip tightening on her gun as she stopped below it. There was no way that she would be able to reach the camera without assistance.

John had turned to watch Helen as she went to carry out their task, noting the distance between the camera and the floor. It was up too far for either of them to reach without standing on something, but both the table and the chair were bolted to the floor.

Helen jumped as John slid in between her and the wall, his sudden proximity startling her. She had forgotten how quickly he could move. He slowly reached for her and took the gun from her hand, tossing it lightly onto the table on the far side of the room before turning back to her and gently placing his hands on her waist. He could feel the tension in her muscles as he maneuvered them into a position where he could lift her to unplug the camera.

"Ready?" He whispered, his eyes staring deeply into hers.

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. He tensed his grip and lifted her into the air, holding her in place while she quickly pulled the wires that connected the camera to the security system. A sudden spark jumped to her hand causing her to yelp in fright.

John heard her cry out and quickly lowered her, intent on getting her as far away from the outlet as possible. She gasped at the sudden movement and without thinking she wrapped her legs around his waist and clung to him. John looked down and met her wide eyes before his gaze traveled to her slightly parted lips, her chest pressed against his with every breath she took. He tightening his grip on her hips as her lower body pressed against him, his body's involuntary reaction betraying his sudden lust. After a moment of stunned silence Helen's brain caught up with her.

"Put me down, I'm fine" She said, her mind going a million miles an hour as she tried not to think about how right felt to be in his arms. The feel of him against her in such an intimate way her scared her to death.

"You said you feel… different. What did you mean by that?" She asked in a breathy voice, quickly backing away from him as he set her back on her feet; she needed space to think about all this.

"The darkness within me is gone… completely" he choked out, the sudden loss of her body heat making him shake with need.

"It must have been when I restarted your heart. The creature jumped from you into the facility itself." She took a step towards him and stopped, not sure if she could handle being close to him.

"But how did it end up inside of me in the first place? I have no recollection of ever encountering it before."

"You wouldn't have to! God, it actually makes sense!" She spun around and paced a few steps before turning back to him, glad for the distraction from her treacherous libido. "Every time you teleport you convert your molecular structure to pure energy. The creature could have latched onto you during one of your jumps, integrated into your being when you rematerialized"

"Its influence is gone." A hopeful look crossed his face. "Is it not possible this entity was the sole cause of my bloodlust? That it's been polluting my soul since it began using my power?"

There was an almost physical pain in her body as she stepped closer to John, the urge to touch him almost overwhelming her.

"I want to believe you John… but it's far too easy to blame everything you've done on something else."

"Yes… you're right" He said, his voice low and his eyes diverted again as he tried not to let his pain show on his face.

"My mind is... so clear." He smiled slightly. "As it was when we first met."

Helen tilted her head to the side and let the tears fill her eyes. She wanted to believe him so badly she was aching inside.

"That thing was my rage." He insisted. "I'm sure of it."

He watched her closely as she took a shaky breath, surprised at the feeling that stirred in him when he saw a single tear make a path down her cheek.

"Doc!" Henry's voice broke the silence between them, the panic in it shocking both Helen and John out of the little bubble they had been in. "It's looking for something!"

They both turned towards to intercom and John watched Helen's body tense up.

"It's scanning our chemical directory!"

John turned towards Helen. "How could it actually access those compounds?" he asked.

"Using the robotic assist mechanism, it is possible." Helen clenched her fists at her side before turning back to the intercom. "What else could it be after?" Before Henry could answer they were cut off from each other again. She spun towards John and asked him what the creatures' agenda would be.

John made a noise in the back of his throat. "Chaos, death, suffering… sound familiar?" Helen looked down at his chest as he continued. "Once it's learned everything it can about its environment the violence will escalate."

Helen's eyes flashed up to his before she turned to the back of the cell, there was nothing that they could do but wait until something else happened. John's eyes followed Helen's movements hungrily as she walked over to sit on the table; it frustrated him that he could do nothing for her. He waited for her to turn around before approaching her, keeping his movements slow as not to alarm her again. They sat in relative silence for a moment before he spoke.

"When did you know?" he asked, deliberately not meeting her gaze.

"When did I know what?" she asked, taking her cue from him and keeping her eyes on the door.

"That I was the Ripper."

Pain flooded Helen and she took a sharp breath. Of all the questions he had to ask, it had to be the one that was certain to tear her to pieces.

"The same day I found out I was pregnant with Ashley." Silence filled the room and John had to fight to keep his expression neutral as he waited for her to elaborate.

"I went to your house that night to tell you and followed you to Berner Street… I knew then that you were no longer the man I loved."

John took a shaky breath at her pain filled words.

"I couldn't believe it was you that I saw committing that horrible crime." Her voice was unsteady. "I ran away blindly and somehow I ended up at Nikola's door, he took me in and helped calm me down enough to tell him what was going on… you know the rest."

John tensed at the mention of Nikola's name and felt a phantom sting in the scar on his cheek, the memory of the night of their confrontation coming to the front of his mind.

"I convinced James to help me freeze the embryo; I couldn't bear to bring our child into the world knowing that you might still be out there. I waited over a hundred years until I felt safe enough to carry Ashley to term." It hurt Helen to tell him all this, but he needed to know. "Nine months later I held the most beautiful being I have ever seen in my arms."

John couldn't help himself; he reached over and gently squeezed Helens hand.

"I am sorry for all the pain I have caused you." He whispered.

"It doesn't matter now." She said, pulling her hand from his. "Ashley is gone."

There was another power fluctuation and the lights flickered for a moment.

"I believe your people have risen to the occasion." He said as they both got to their feet.

"Of course they have." She said distractedly as Henry's panicked voice came from the walkie on her hip. The creature was using the automated assist to create something and Henry was still locked out of the controls for the lab. Helen and John shared a look before he reached over and wrapped his hand around Helen's to press the talk button. Helen's eyes shot to his and she took a sharp breath.

"Mr. Foss, can you open the door?" He asked, letting go of her hand as if it had burned him.

"Doc?"

"It's alright Henry." She assured him, her eyes meeting Johns for a second before the door buzzed open.

They both swiftly made their way to the lab, quickly finding their way blocked by the blast doors. Henry looked up from his control tablet as they came to a stop in front of him, an apologetic look on his face as Helen looked to him for an answer.

"A Sarin Gas nerve agent, we've got about 90 seconds before it'll release the compound into the vents."

John placed his hand against the blast door. There was nothing else for it.

"It won't end here, it will grow consuming whatever it can and never stop killing." He turned to face Helen. This was going to hurt.

"Henry we need more time." Helen was panicking; she knew what John was planning to do.

"We don't have it." His voice was low and Helen searched his eyes, pleading with him not to do it.

Will quickly rounded the corner and came to stand by Henry.

"What's happening now?" he asked, his eyes going to Helen and John who were both seemingly wrapped up in their own little world.

John stepped closer to Helen, fighting the urge to pull her to him. "My entire body is geared towards being its home."

"John-."

"Let me go."

"John you don't have to do this." Helen pleaded. "We can find a way-."

"I love you." The words flew from him without thought. "Remember that… always?"

He stared into Helen's eyes for a moment longer, willing her to let him do this, to take the beast back inside of him to save her. They stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity, neither one wanting to give in to the others silent request. A look of despair came into Helen's eyes and John knew that was the only agreement he was going to get. Seeing that look in her eyes and knowing he was the cause of it would haunt him for the rest of his days.

"Mr. Foss, would you be so kind as to deactivate the EM shield?"

Helen broke eye contact and nodded to Henry. It took her a moment to be able to look at John again and what she saw in his eyes pierced her heart. He quickly leaned forward and placed his hand on the side of her neck, pulling her towards him before pressing a chaste kiss to her lips.

"For all eternity." He whispered.

Anguish filled Helen as John teleported into the lab, there was nothing she could do to stop him.

Moments later Henry was able to get the door open and panic filled Helen when she saw John's body on the ground.

"I need a med kit right away!" She cried as she rushed over to him and quickly turned him onto his back. Her hand flew to his neck to check for a pulse and his eyes snapped open.

"Get away from me!" He snarled as he shoved her away, before quickly rolling to his feet.

Helen landed painfully on her backside before scrambling to her feet, her eyes stinging with unwanted tears as she took in the conflicted expression on his face. "Please let me help you." she begged.

"I don't need your help." He snarled at her, at war with the creature inside of him.

"It would have killed a lot more if it weren't for you. You kept it at bay." Helen wanted to scream at how unfair it was. John grimaced in pain.

"I need to leave now." He said; the struggle wasn't to keep from hurting her, but to keep from taking her right there on the laboratory floor.

"Where are you going?" Helen asked, her hand reaching out to him.

"I have no destination in mind."

Helen froze at his words.

"John, wait!"

He was gone in an instant, the swirling of the dust motes left behind in his absence the only indication he had ever been there at all.

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