So yes, it's been a while and yes, this is abysmally short but it's way past midnight and I'm sick and I felt guilty for not updating sooner so this is what you get...

And to CK, I would very much liked to have replied to your review but your email was filtered out :( so, I'll give you the (extremely) condensed version:

THANK YOU :D :D :D :D You made me grin like a fool in my lecture and thus got some pretty weird looks...

Also, I heard about the musical via Twitter... Yay for following the cast and crew :P

Thank you to those who reviewed... this was one of the chapters I lost and was very hard to rewrite so all the support was a massive help :)

Enjoy

xx

She knew it would be several hours until the blood work came back but Helen was still struggling to wrap her head around the fact that she had been confined to her small bed in the infirmary. It wasn't as if they could 'observe' her, she'd argued internally.

"You don't know what else could be happening to you," Will had argued weakly. "It's for your own safety."

She'd snorted at that one. He wanted her kept in bed for his own sanity, not her safety.

"You should rest," Henry had agreed when she asked again to go to her lab. They'd all nodded in assent. Even Nikola, that filthy traitor, she cursed internally. So now here she was, sitting in that blasted bed with the covers thrown over her legs so they could see where she was.

They were also taking turns to babysit her, much to her disgust. Will had been first. He spent the entire time making awkward small talk to her chest. Kate was next up and remained blissfully silent, legs propped up on the bed as she leafed through one of Henry's comic books, eyes flitting back to Helen on occasion. Henry had spent his time explaining to her what had happened once she was unconscious and she found herself immediately grateful for him. He was clearly developing a head for situations such as these.

Nikola had discussed with her several more theories about her new found ability before proceeding to explain to her, in detail, all of the things he'd do if he were granted such a power. She knew she should have been offended that more than half of his ludicrous and often lewd plans involved her but instead his idea's kept her in fits of laughter, lightening her spirit considerably. When the Big Guy came around, however, her mood dropped instantly. He was silent and sullen as he cleaned the infirmary, always with an eye on her as though she was about to escape.

Hey, there's an idea, part of her mind suggested but she shook it off at once.

At least until she was sitting with Henry for the third time that day.

He was prattling on about something he'd found and she knew she should be paying attention but her mind kept wandering. It's not like it would hurt to sneak off to the library for a few minutes. He asked her a question and she saw her opportunity.

She remained silent, breathing as little as possible.

"Doc?" Henry called uncertainly. Silence. "Magnus?" he called, louder this time as he stood up, looking the bed up and down. His face was creased with concern and Helen felt her resolve falter.

"I'm here," she answered glumly. Henry breathed a sigh of relief as he sank down into his chair again.

"Don't frighten me like that again," he almost pleaded with her, managing to look at her face, even remotely close to her eyes.

"Sorry," she said softly and he smiled. The two sat in silence until Nikola came again, his smile turning devilish as Henry left the room.

"I've had a thought," she started, cutting off whatever ridiculously innuendo loaded idea he was about to voice. "Do you remember when we were attacked by that creature? Well, the only time we could see it was when it was wounded. We could see the blood and caught a momentary glimpse of it," she mused and his eyes lit up.

"I think the invisibility must be a defence mechanism," she concluded. "Obviously it makes for a pretty complete defence although I do wonder why on earth the creature needed it, it had the strength to take me down without the element of surprise."

"I wonder if it works the same way for you," Nikola mused, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Nikola," she squeaked as he sat on her arm. She wriggled her fingers underneath him and his eyes grew dark, a small smile developing as he stood up, releasing her hand.

"If I didn't know any better," he said, his voice dark and velvety, "I'd think you just tried to grope me." He raised an eyebrow in her general direction.

"OW!"

"You should know better," she said, pleased with herself as he rubbed his arm, a dark look on his face.

"You're violent," he remarked bitterly. "And you distracted me from my point."

"You sat on me," she countered, pleased he couldn't see the grin on her face. He made a face at her and she sighed. "Your point?"

"Maybe you're invisibility is also a defence mechanism, somehow passed from that beasty to you," he explained, still looking bitter about his arm.

"But I don't feel threatened, I shouldn't be invisible," she reasoned.

"Maybe it requires injury or complete relaxation to become visible again," he theorized as a small but not so subtle smirk erupted on his face. "And I'd be happy to offer my assistance in the latter."

She was quiet for a moment.

"Helen," he said cautiously, moving his hand to her knee to check she was still there. "Are you trying to figure out where to hit me?" he asked sounding worried. Helen let out a laugh at that and relief crossed his face.

In truth, she had been contemplating his offer. Her entire body felt like it was on fire and she knew that if he could see her eyes, he'd know exactly how tempted she was by him. Her shoulder had been throbbing steadily but now she barely noticed it, her eyes glued to his face, noticing that he really was quite beautiful.

She shook her head suddenly. What was she thinking? This was Nikola. Nikola Tesla. The man who had tried to kill her. The man bent on world domination. The man whose eyes she was currently drowning in.

"I don't think that creature's invisibility was natural," Nikola mused, breaking into her line of thought.

"Give me a knife," she instructed suddenly and Nikola looked startled. "Something sharp," she amended but Nikola didn't move. "Please."

With a sigh, he stood up and moved over to the nearest table, shuffling through a draw full of supplies before finding a scalpel. He came back to her, holding the blade just out her reach.

"Don't do anything drastic," he warned, holding out the scalpel to her. Helen grabbed it from him before he could change his mind and pulled off the plastic cover. With both trepidation and fear, she held it to her palm. With just the tiniest bit of pressure, she drew blood and Nikola gasped.

"Whatever this is, it is definitely from that creature," she said, watching the blood pooling on her hand. Nikola sprang into action, snatching the blade out of her hand and rushing to get her a bandage.

"Relax," she cooed, taking the bandage he offered. "It's very small."

"That's not why I'm rushing," he said, watching as the bandage wrapped itself around thin air. "Your other bandage is invisible, I want to know if this one will go the same way."

They both sat silently for a few moments, watching her hand. Sure enough, not a minute later, the bandage shimmered out of sight and Nikola smiled triumphantly.

"What?" Helen asked, looking up into his smug face.

"It's gone," he explained with another smile.

"I wish I could see it," she almost whined, taken aback at her own tone of voice. Nikola raised an eyebrow questioningly and opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Will as he entered the room.

"You can go, Tesla," the psychologist said, annoyed. He and Nikola had been growling at each other since they had gotten home. Nikola pulled a face for Helen's benefit. She giggled and he cast a curious look down at her.

"She's all yours, huggybear," Nikola said, thumping Will in the shoulder as he walked out. Will grumbled and sat down next to Helen with an uncertain look at the bed.

She let out a sigh at the sudden change in atmosphere and settled in for the latest round of babysitting, trying to figure out how long it would be before Nikola got back.