Hey, hey! Two updates in a night?
In the end, Nikola had to use a sheet from his bed to cover himself. He probably could have opened the cupboards with brute force but he knew she wouldn't have gone far. In fact, he'd only taken a few steps into the corridor before he saw the towels she'd abandoned. Cheeky minx, he thought as he scooped them up, turning to head back to his room.
"What on earth!" Kate exclaimed as she saw the half naked vampire. Nikola's eyes widened and he tightened his grip on the sheet.
"Helen, ah, stole my towel and ah, locked away my clothes," he explained. Kate started to giggle, ignoring the 'shut up or I'll kill you' glare Nikola was sending her way.
"And you didn't fight back?"
"I was a little preoccupied," he snapped back. He threw his shoulders back before striding past Kate, who was now openly laughing, and back to his room.
"Get some sun much!" she called to his retreating back and a low growl slipped out of his lips. He slammed the door behind him, cursing Helen, feeling more embarrassed than he had been in a long while.
Damn that Helen! She'd always had a deceptively wide naughty streak but even for Nikola, this was uncharted territory. Throwing the sheet to the side, he quickly dried himself before wrapping the towel around his waist and turning to his closet. Given the fact he was around on a semi permanent basis, Helen had set aside a room for him, promising that she wouldn't snoop. He'd laughed at that, telling her that she was more than welcome to take a poke around. She'd bumped his shoulder with her own at that before putting on a stern face and telling him to behave.
The doors were very firmly locked it seemed, which was odd because he actually didn't know they locked. He examined them for a moment before deciding to take the most destructive route possible. He wasn't going to search for the damned key or even try to pick the lock. Payback's a bitch, he thought as he braced himself. With a swift tug, he pulled both doors completely off their hinges. He grinned at his handy work before stacking the doors neatly beside the bed. He turned back to his limited wardrobe and began to peruse the clothes he hadn't managed to ruin in the few short weeks he'd been here.
After making a selection, he laid the clothes out carefully on the bed and proceed to dress as slowly as he could manage. He was not going to run after her like the randy school boy he was, she was going to wait for him. And he knew she'd be waiting. Somewhere between his attempts to entertain her and the moment she'd quoted back his list to him, this had become a game for both of them. A dangerous and dirty game but one Nikola intended to win. He knew it wouldn't be easy but he had 6 more items on that list to use and abuse until she began begging.
Just as he shrugged into his jacket, there was a knock on the door. He knew it wouldn't be Helen but still he made himself walk slowly. He opened the door fully, exposing his messy room for the visitor's appraisal. Kate stood at the door with a sneaky smile and a large key in her hand.
"I see you don't need this then. The Doc seemed to be under the impression you would," she said, holding up the offending item.
"Disappointed are we?" he asked crisply and she snorted at him.
"Sparkly vampires only do it for teenage girls, Vlad," she said, tossing the key towards him. He caught it before rolling his eyes.
"I do not sparkle," he said with disgust.
"You do when you're wet," she retorted with a grin before turning and almost skipping down the hallway.
"Run back to your beast, beauty," he called out, annoyed. "Before I throttle you with that book."
"Whatever you say Eddie," she called back in a sing song voice. Nikola felt the anger roll through his body and had to call on years of practice to stop it. He pictured Helen and her infectious laugh as they sat on the side of the crater they'd created. It was a new image but her jovial mood after they'd not only 're-vamped' him but destroyed that power hungry bitch too was one he wouldn't soon forget. There was the calm he needed. Well, not calm but enough of a reason not to scare the children into leaving them alone for a delightfully invisible afternoon.
As he started down the corridor, he chuckled. She had been so jealous. She just didn't know it. He let his mind wander over all the reasons she loved him as he made his way to her office. He knew it was smug and more than a little conceited but it was so true. Raising his hand, Nikola knocked once before pushing open the door, lounging in the doorway.
"Nikola," a smug voice said from the desk. "I see you got the key then."
"Actually, Ms. Freelander was too late," he answered, sauntering towards her. "I took matters into my own hands."
"Why are you hell bent on destroying my house?" she asked with an exasperated sigh, her playful mood gone.
"You stole the key!" he exclaimed. "After stealing my dirty clothes which, I'd very much like back."
"They're in the rubbish," she said nonchalantly. Nikola's jaw dropped and Helen chuckled. "They were filthy. I'll buy you another set if they mean that much to you."
Nikola muttered something that sounded like sentimental value and she giggled.
"Don't pout, Nikola. It is unbecoming," she advised him haughtily and he grinned. He opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted when Will came to the door.
"Magnus?" he asked, still clearly a little worried she'd attack him again.
"Do you have the results?" she asked immediately, standing up to walk over to him. Will waved a folder in her general direction which she quickly snatched out of his hand. She started reading, flicking through the pages and Will was having no trouble picturing the confusion on her face. He'd tried to decipher the results but to no avail.
"Ow!" she exclaimed suddenly, the folder snapping shut and spinning around to face Nikola who was now standing very close by. "You can see through me, there's no need to stand on me," she complained angrily.
"The fact that I can see through you is precisely why I stood on you," Nikola said, rolling his eyes but taking a small step back. Helen let out a huff of disapproval before opening the file again. There was a minute of silence as she processed whatever mumbo jumbo was written there but soon enough she snapped it shut with a sigh.
"Bad news?" Will asked.
"Not entirely," she said, sounding tired. "It seems this is some kind of virus. If I had to guess I'd say that the creature picked up the virus and maybe something in its physiology or diet exacerbates the condition and whatever it is, was in its saliva," She let out a sigh before throwing the file on the nearby sofa.
"So what do we do?" Will asked, worried.
"We wait. It takes approximately 120 days for all the blood in the human body to be replaced and that should get rid of it. In the mean time I want to take samples of all the plants in the area we found the creature. There might be a way to develop an antibody if I can find the cause of the invisibility," she concluded before sinking down into the sofa.
"Wait, what? Four months? You're going to be invisible for four months? There has to be something else we can do," Will said incredulously.
"That is exactly why I just asked you to procure the plants and the corpse," she snapped and he stepped back. "Now leave, please," she added. Will floundered for a minute before turning and leaving.
"I'm assuming that doesn't apply to me," Nikola said, sitting down next to her.
"For now," she said, her voice laced with annoyance.
"I hate to say this Helen, but I think you should ease up on poor old Huggybear," he advised, ignoring the growl she gave him in response. "He's simply frightened. Whether for you or of you I'm not certain but the point stands, feeble human minds were not made to cope with your wrath."
She snorted at him. "Since when do you stick up for 'the children'?" she asked, her voice managing to infer the quotation marks.
"Call it a moment of weakness," he said smoothly and she laughed at him.
"And here I was thinking that you'd actually grown up," she said, tutting at him.
"I will if you will," he countered with a leer.
"And what does that mean?"
"I'm not the one who stole clothes and locked cupboards."
"It was your idea," she protested weakly and he just chuckled.
"If you're going to follow my advice, there are many more far interesting things on that list."
"I know," she said indulgently. "But we have 120 days, pacing ourselves sounds like a good idea."
Nikola just stared at her. Her voice was deep and husky and he could imagine the look she was giving him.
"Careful Helen, you know I'll be more than willing to oblige everything on that list," he responded, making an effort to sound in control.
"Even number 5?" she asked, her voice dangerously seductive. His face went blank as he tried to figure out what she was suggesting. Seizing her chance Helen launched herself at him, a look of understanding dawning over his features just as she made contact with him.
"You'd tickle me?" she asked, confused. Everything else he'd suggested had a very sexual undertone but this seemed far too benign to make it into such a libidinous list. "I must admit I was expecting number 5 to be much more… Well, more like everything else you've suggested."
"It's only a cover," he explained with a smirk. "If I tickle you, you'll be so distracted that you'd never notice exactly where my hands are."
"Good thing my sides aren't ticklish," she said with a smug grin at having out foxed him.
"But the back of your knees are," he said knowingly.
"How do you know that?" she asked, shocked that he'd discovered something she'd managed to keep secret from her own daughter.
His smug laugh was the only answer she got.
"No!" he managed to get out before her fingers began their assault. Then he was laughing and squirming and trying to fight her. "Please Helen," he whimpered between yelps. She simply laughed and doubled her efforts. Somehow he managed to scramble away from her, his breathing heavy and eyes wide as he stared at the dent in the couch that was her. His impeccable suit was now crumpled, his waist coat twisted at an odd angle.
"I thought the whole point of number 5 was the idea of wandering fingers," she said, unable to stop grinning at the look of shock still on his face. When he didn't answer, she moved towards him slowly. She knew he knew where she was but he kept still.
She was a hairsbreadth away from him by the time she saw that glint in his eyes. He really was a consummate actor. Horrified at her own mistake, she tried to step away from him but he was too quick, his arms coming up and around her.
"Nikola," she protested, fighting his iron grip. He chuckled before moving her back to the couch, his body crushing hers as they sat down. They'd barely hit the cushions before his hands made their way down her sides (lingering in all the right places) to her knees and her eyes widened. "Please don't," she squeaked and he grinned.
"It's time for you to taste your own medicine, doctor." In a matter of seconds the room was filled with shrill screams and breathy please. With effort she squirmed away from him, quickly turning the tables as he hands flew to his sides again. His hands faltered and he tried to back away from her.
"Not so quickly Nikola," she said, following him, her hands aiming for him again.
"My thoughts exactly," he whispered in her ear as he grabbed her, pinning her arms as he spun her to face away from him. She squealed and fought him but Nikola only laughed, holding her steady.
"Is everything O.K?" Kate said from her position at the door. Nikola spun around, his arms still around Helen who had since stopped struggling. It was an odd sight, Nikola dishevelled with something crushing against his jacket, his arms holding thin air. Someone, she corrected, unable to hide her smirk.
"I'll leave you to it then," she said with a grin, pleased beyond measure to see her normally stuffy boss acting somewhere close to human.
As she walked down the corridor she heard Nikola's carefree laugh followed by his yelp as a stinging blow was landed on his cheek. She chuckled, the Doc was the only person who could handle the Vamp and she did it very, very well.