Yeah, it's been a while... Blame my need to pass my subjects... It's always getting in the way of things like this! I don't understand why I have to write original things... I mean, can't I just submit this? Two birds with one stone and all that :P

This is, without a doubt, one mother chucker of a chapter (3298 by my count which makes it the largest for this story yet) but the next one will be much, much shorter so consider this compensation :)

Thank you to that damn distraction who keeps nagging me to update :P Also, massive thanks to those still reading this story... In my experience, this is about the point where people start to drop off so it's wonderful to see so many people not only reading but also reviewing :D Y'all make me so very happy!

Be prepared for some literal Will bashing (highly therapeutic), some bad mouthing of Druitt (just doin' what comes naturally) and some unrepentant romance and fluff for our favourite immortals :D Oh, and tea too...

Enjoy

xx

She'd been avoiding them all week. It had been a month and a half since this whole debacle had started and Helen's patience was wearing thin. She'd snapped at everyone, issuing orders and making demands. She'd spent a full hour lecturing them on how they were destroying the Sanctuary and how if they didn't pick up their game, the moment she was back to normal they'd all be facing performance evaluations. Never one to do something half heartedly, she'd also shown them the beginnings of her reports on their failures in the short time they'd been in charge.

Will had tried to protest that they were actually doing quite well with the help of Declan but Helen was having none of it. She'd said it was a weak, half assed attempt at an excuse that did not even cover a fraction of his hide. Kate and Henry had sat silently throughout the entire show, eyes trained on the floor, the only safe place.

Despite her hours in the lab, Helen was getting nowhere. She'd examined the corpse of the abnormal and was almost done cataloguing all the plant matter that had been found around the nesting site but to no avail. She tried various concoctions, each time taking a massive risk but getting more and more desperate with each attempt. She was starting to feel the effects of whatever was causing this on a very regular basis. She knew the mood swings were bad and she'd noticed a marked improvement in her physical strength but it seemed more desperate she got, the more elusive the answer became.

She was now taking some time off, relaxing in her office. She was sitting by the window, reading a book, trying not to think about the latest mix of blood, plant matter and abnormal secretions that were fermenting in her lab. She sighed and put down the book before reaching for another from the pile beside her. She knew which book it was the moment her hand came in contact with the beat up cover. It was one of her favourite romance novels. It was sweet and romantic and while containing a decent number of passionate encounters, still managed to convey true love without becoming corny. With quick fingers, she flicked through the pages of the book, finding her favourite passage with ease.

As she began to read, Helen could feel the stress in her body begin to dissipate. She relaxed into her seat, letting the words flow over her in a way that was both soothing and exciting all at once. Soon she was absorbed in the book, her mind's eye filled with images of dashing princes and out spoken yet beautiful maidens. She knew it was clichéd but something about the predictable plot of the book always made her smile. She was just getting to her favourite part, the first kiss when there was a knock at the door. She tried to ignore it but again the noise rang out.

"What?" she spat, sitting up in her chair.

The door swung open to reveal a very contented looking Nikola holding in one hand a silver platter.

"Tea?" he asked with a flourish, stepping towards where she sat, her book suspended in midair serving to guide him. As he set down the tea service, Nikola sank into the other chair and smiled at her, his eyes flicking to the cover of the book she'd marked and then put down. "Good read?" he asked dryly.

"Very," she said tersely. She wanted the tea but she wanted to keep reading even more so.

"May I?" he said, reaching towards her. Before she had time to say yes or no, he plucked the book from her grasp and opened it to where she had dog-eared her page. It wasn't a practice she normally used but this was a personal book, not one that was available for anyone and everyone down in the library.

"My, my," Nikola said smugly, glancing up over the page to raise an eye brow at her. "This is quite the novel."

"Please, it's tame and you know it," she scoffed, utilizing her invisibility to slip forwards and grab the book back before he could protest. She had the book in her hands for only a moment before he snatched it back.

"I was reading that," he admonished, standing up and walking away as he started to read again.

"Nikola, give it back. Now," she ordered, following him. She reached around his shoulders for the book but as her arm brushed against him, he realized her intentions and held the book just out of her grasp.

"Nikola," she almost whined and he grinned.

"Didn't Daddy ever teach you to share?" he asked.

"Don't patronize me," she growled, making another lunge for the book.

"Why can't I read it?" he asked, hiding the book behind his back.

"Because you didn't ask."

"Can I borrow you book please, Miss. Magnus."

"It's Doctor and no."

"Why not?"

"Because you are an infuriating man hell bent on driving me to the brink of insanity."

"Vampire, not man," he corrected, still dodging her attempts to grab the book back.

"If you're not careful, you'll be dead and it won't matter what I call you," she retorted angrily.

He gave her a puzzled look before slowly holding the book out in front of him. She snatched it from his hands before stalking back to her seat.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were blushing Doctor," Nikola said, trying to tease her gently.

"Well, it's a good thing you do know better," she retorted, her voice a little wobbly.

Immediately alarmed, Nikola moved back to her side, crouching down next to the arm rest. Her breathing sounded a little laboured and he would have sworn he could hear her sniffling. Wordlessly he held out a handkerchief to her. She grabbed it from him and seemed to turn away from him to gently dab at her cheeks. She let out a long suffering sigh before turning back to face him.

"Thank you," she said quietly, her voice still shaking as she handed back the handkerchief.

"Keep it," he insisted. She seemed to hesitate for a moment before the slightly damp fabric fell to her lap. "What's wrong?" he asked after a moment.

"Nothing," she replied, trying and failing to sound chipper. He just cocked and eyebrow at her. She let out a deep breath.

"It just all feels so futile," she admitted quietly. Nikola waited, knowing there was more. "I can't think of anything to fix this. I just… I can't concentrate on anything and everything just makes me so mad!" She was openly sobbing by this point. Trying to call on his earlier accuracy, Nikola reached out a hand, hoping to grab hers. It took him a few moments but eventually she grabbed his hand and held on tight.

"I can't control myself," she said, her voice heartbreakingly soft. "There are times… It's almost as if I'm blacking out. I wake up and I can remember that something happened but… I'm terrified Nikola. I don't want to hurt anyone but I can't remember… I just… Oh God, what would happened if I…" she let out another sob.

Nikola listened in silence, terrified of her openness. Helen Magnus wasn't as cold as most people suspected but emotional outbursts were few and far between. He'd only ever seen her cry twice before. Not that he could see her now but still, the point remained.

"It's fine. You'll be fine. You haven't done anything and I promise I won't let you," he said in a rush. He knew she wasn't looking at him. "Look at me," he ordered quietly. He waited until he heard the rustle of her hair before continuing. "I promise Helen, everything will be fine."

She let out a watery chuckle and he felt immediately at ease. Whatever had triggered the outburst was clearly forgotten. Nikola released her hand and moved back to his earlier seat. They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes until Nikola had an idea.

Smiling at her, he leaned forwards.

"Can I have that book for a moment?" he asked slyly.

"Please not now," she said, sounding tired.

"I promise you'll like it," he said, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Nikola," she said softly.

"Please?" he asked again, throwing in his best puppy dog eyes for good measure.

"I'm warning you," she said as she turned the book over to him, "now is not the time to annoy me."

Nikola just chuckled smugly and opened the book. He flicked through until he found the page she'd marked.

"I'm guessing this is your favourite passage," he remarked, tapping the page in question. She let out an uncomfortable little cough which he took as assent. With one last, self congratulatory look over at her chair, Nikola began to read aloud.

Helen's breathing hitched and she noticed his smile get just that bit bigger. She had half a mind to stop him but there was something mesmerizing about the whole situation. As he spoke, Helen could feel herself relaxing, the familiar words being spoken by a familiar voice was soothing. She let her eyes close as her head fell back against the chair. She may not have realized it but soon enough small sounds of pleasure were erupting from her lips.

Nikola stopped abruptly, looking over towards her soft sighs. He was unable to stifle his laughter at her reactions and was rewarded by a sharp inhalation of breath.

"Who knew that a first kiss could get our esteemed Doctor so hot and bothered?" he mused, shutting the book before putting it on the table.

"Don't Nikola," she said. He could tell she was trying to be menacing but he heard the exhaustion in her voice. She needed to be distracted, he knew it and knew just how to do so.

"I remember out first kiss," he said dreamily and she snorted.

"Stolen kisses don't count," she argued back.

"I wasn't talking about Rome."

"Drunk kisses don't count either," she said after a beat.

"Do to. If we both remember it, it counts."

"But I didn't really kiss you. We were under the mistletoe and very drunk."

"You were drunk," he countered. "I was perfectly sober."

"Which is another reason it doesn't count! I could argue you took advantage of me."

"You kissed me!" he exclaimed. "If anything you took advantage of my unbridled affection for you."

She scoffed at him, laughing for a moment before stopping abruptly. Then he cursed himself for bring up that particular evening. It was the first Christmas they'd spent together after John left. She'd found a package for herself on the doorstep addressed to her in that cursive script they'd all spent weeks ridding the house of. She'd thrown it into the fire immediately before retreating to her room. A few hours later she'd come back to them, more drunk than they'd ever seen her. She'd used the alcohol to brighten her mood but the only problem was that it hadn't worked on them too. She'd been giggly and affectionate, making disparaging jokes as she lounged practically on top of them. The entire evening had been tense and tinged with that ever present sadness John had left them with.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, snapping back to reality in time to see her fiddle with the handkerchief still in her lap.

"It's O.K," she said weakly. "I really shouldn't do this at the mere mention of…" she trailed off. "And it wasn't even a mention."

Nikola swiftly pushed the small table away from between them before standing up, holding a hand out to her. He figured she was giving him a sceptical look but his fears were alleviated when he felt her hand come to rest gently in his. He tugged slightly until he heard her stand up and he could feel her body heat through the layers of his clothes. Tentatively he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest.

He briefly wondered if she'd pull away but once she let out a shuddering breath he knew his life wasn't in danger. She seemed to collapse against him as her arms wound around him, pulling them even closer. Her head settled on his shoulder and Nikola closed his eyes. He knew if he looked down at himself embracing her invisible body, the moment would be lost so instead he focused on her breathing as she pulled herself together.

"Nikola," she whispered against his neck.

"Hmm?" he queried, eyes still closed.

"Number 8?"

He tightened his grip on her, hoping this dream would never end.

"Please?" came her whisper. Her breath was tickling his neck and he fought the urge to shiver.

"Number 8?" he said. "I'd kiss you."

"You'd miss."

"Would not."

"Care to place a bet?" The words were out before she realised she'd thought them.

"Don't you know it."

Slowly he pulled back. He could feel her breath against his lips. He leant in towards her, the tip of his nose brushing against hers as he tilted his head. He closed his eyes as his lips stopped millimetres from hers through sheer luck. He paused, giving her a chance to run away or even to release the grip she had on his shoulders but she didn't.

His lips brushed against hers, moving slowly. He didn't have to fight back any baser urges, this was more than he ever could have dreamed of. Until, that was, she started to kiss him back. Her lips were soft as the moved against his. The sun was streaming through the window, bright on the back of his eyelids but this was a secondary sensation. His body felt warm, tingling as her arms moved to his neck, pulling them closer together as he began to taste her. She was soft, feminine and sweet with just a hint of something he couldn't place.

His arms were around her waist, one hand tracing her side while the other held tightly the small of her back. She let out a little sigh against his lips and he almost moaned. She was headier than wine, the only thing he'd ever tasted that was sweeter than blood. Her body fitted against his perfectly, allowing none of the sun's rays to come between them.

Maybe a minute later, maybe a year later, neither were sure, Nikola pulled back.

"Now that's a first kiss," he whispered as his forehead dropped to rest against hers. She chuckled breathlessly as she tightened her grip on him. A few moments later, Nikola opened his mouth to say something but he promptly forgot it when her lips claimed his again.

This time there was more… more everything, more touching, more heat and a lot more tongue. She was ravenous for him and he wasn't far behind. He growled into her lips as her hands made their way to his head, grabbing onto his hair as if to anchor herself. He grabbed her hips, pulling their bodies flush but they began to sway with the force of it. Her lips began to trace a path down his neck and he moaned her name. Soon enough he reclaimed her lips, plundering them in an effort to get more of that flavour he was quickly becoming addicted to. One of his hands cupped her face as she ran a hand down his back.

"Magnus, I-," Will said as he walked in. Then he coughed and spluttered at the sight of Nikola making out with thin air.

Helen let out an angry wail before clutching Nikola to her.

Will's eyes boggled.

"Tesla?" he called frantically as the vampire flickered out of sight.

"Get out!" Helen screeched, pushing Nikola behind her as she started for Will. The second she let go of him, Nikola became visible again and Will's eyes widened even further.

"How did you do that?" he asked, not paying attention to the angry footsteps headed his way.

"Helen, don't!" Nikola called, racing after her but it was too late. By the time he reached her, she had her hands around Will's neck and was dangling him in mid air. She was screaming and wailing angrily but the only words he could make out where "death" and "mine." Taking careful aim, Nikola threw himself at the space in front of the struggling protégé. He collided with Helen and sent them both hurtling towards the ground. Nikola landed on top of her but immediately she started thrashing under him, fingers clawing at him which she screamed impossibly louder.

Will, whilst still choking slightly dashed to Nikola's aid, pulling the vampire away from the screaming woman beneath him. The moment he was clear, Helen's screaming increased. They heard her scrambling desperately on the ground before a beat of silence. Will snuck a glance at Nikola's terrified yet determined face and opened his mouth but the words never came out. Out of nowhere, Helen was on him, hands scratching and hitting everything they could find. She was yelling indistinctly now as Will began to cower from the invisible banshee.

"Helen, stop!" Nikola yelled as he headed towards them but she either ignored him or chose not to listen. Drawn by the noise, Henry, Kate and the Big Guy came barrelling into the room, stunners at the ready. Sensing the inevitable, Nikola raced towards Will's hunched figure and threw his arms about until he came into contact with Helen's writhing body. At the new contact she let out a shrill screech but Nikola, now vamped up, used every bit of his enhanced strength to hold her. And boy did he need it. She seemed to have grown in strength and determination since she'd last attacked Will and Nikola honestly toyed with the idea of ordering the team to stun her. He decided against it after a moment, remembering that the sensation wasn't pleasant to wake up to.

"Helen stop or they'll have to shoot you!" he cried desperately, his arms still struggling to contain her.

At his words she grew completely still and Nikola momentarily relaxed, an instinct more than a decision. Seizing her chance, Helen threw her arms wide and cast him off. Nikola landed against the wall with a thud and he winced as he realised at least two of his ribs would be broken.

"You all want to hold me!" Helen screamed. "You want to confine me! You will kill me! You cannot confine me! YOU CANNOT CONFINE ME!" Her voice was an unfamiliar high pitched screech and sent shivers down everyone's spine. Eyes were darting around the room as they tried to figure out where her pacing feet were taking her. Kate was confident enough to shoot but missed by a mile, sending a blast just about Will's head.

At the hostile action, Helen let out another wail, this time definitely more abnormal than human. She threw herself at Kate, sending the smaller woman sprawling across the room with one punch. She screamed again before throwing a punch at Henry and the Big Guy and, judging by the sound of her footsteps, sprinted from the room.

"Sedatives," Nikola groaned, standing up slowly. "Hurry and get sedatives."