Author's Note: I could not for the life of me properly express things just from Will's Point of View. I debated having this whole part be Magnus' POV, but there were parts that didn't fit that either. So, you get a mixture. Because of this, this part is longer than all the others before it. Hope you don't mind. Thank you very much for all the encouragement, I really wasn't expecting such a great response to this story, but appreciate it.

Disclaimer: I do not lay claim to anything from the show, only my own work and creations. Mostly just Dr. Telares, Dr. Gering, Dr. Marks and the accolo-nexum. Oh, and the Oolues, which don't actually exist, even in myth.

Survival of the Fittest

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Part Four: Things Complicated

/\ Will's Point of View-

She was Helen Magnus. Daughter of Gregory and Patricia Magnus. She was one hundred and fifty-nine years old and had seen things few abnormals, much less most humans, had ever imagined. In the past, she had born a child, and named her daughter Ashley. She had seen both the birth and death of that life. Never had there been someone who had made so many contributions over so very many years.

Yet as Will looked at the woman before him, he saw just that, a human woman. Her face reflected fear and a deep sadness akin to what he had seen when she had lost her daughter. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to carry another life after losing one so precious to her.

Knowing the truth seemed to be causing her physical pain in tandem with her condition. Her brow was covered in sweat. She was running a fever. She lay in the back of the van, still hooked to an IV and a monitor. Will sat beside her, not speaking but trying not to stare at her either, while Kate was up front driving.

Leaving the two accolo-nexum had brought the onset of the fever and had made her dry heave for six minutes straight while they tried to load her up and get her to Dr. Telares' lab. According to Henry, the accolo-nexum had gone crazy after they had left, scratching at the ground and glass while keening their strange cry. It had made it difficult to load them back up.

Magnus turned away from Will's occasional glances, clawing at the sweat trickling into her eyes. Her heartbeat had gotten a little erratic. The monitor was Will's other point of concentration besides her face. She looked like she really just wanted to throw up but was holding it off. He knew there was nothing in her stomach to be expelled. Finally, they came to a stop. Dr. Gering and Dr. Telares both opened the doors and Will helped transfer her inside. Her breathing was short and just as erratic as her heartbeat was becoming.

Dr. Gering looked worried. "Helen, I need you to calm down. Concentrate on your breathing."

Magnus arched back into the gurney. "I'm- trying Elio." She gasped quietly.

Will tried to wait patiently as the two other doctors attached Magnus to machines to monitor her body's reactions. By the time they finally wheeled her into an observation room, with the habitat on the other side of thick glass, she looked even worse than she had this morning. They got her close enough to the glass she could have reached out and touched it if she'd had the strength, then shoved it further so that it was pressed close.

He hovered in the background, trying to stay out of the way without letting Magnus out of his sight. Kate was standing anxiously beside him, her eyes roving from place to place without settling on anything till the sound of grating metal met their ears.

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/\Magnus' POV-

Helen felt them before she saw them. It was like a drug swept through her system, taking the sickness in her body and wiping it away. It reminded her eerily of the time she and Will had been in her submarine, the Nautilus. She had been infected at the time and going deeper under the ocean, till the pressure had almost crushed them, had felt like sunshine might to a starving plant. She turned her head jerkily as the dizziness rattling her skull intensified.

Several accolo-nexum could be seen running toward the glass through the vegetation already. Their loping stride continued right up to the glass as they all scrambled to press their noses against it, scratching at the barrier and keening like the other two had. More arrived, adding to the frenzy on the other side, till approximately twenty accolo-nexum were writhing around one another. She recognized the two from earlier among them again, though she couldn't have said how. All the accolo-nexum looking largely similar. She could even tell which of the group had been the one that she and Will had first caught, the one that had started all of this. The feeling of seeing them, of being with them, was overwhelming. She rolled on her bed headless of what Elio or Wilhelmina had to say and pressed her whole side against the glass. The scratching bothered her headache, but the keening sound was soothing. "Settle." She murmured groggily as she added her forehead to the glass too.

Instantly, she was obeyed. The accolo-nexum all stopped moving, their noses pressed to the glass in places where it made contact with her.

"Helen, how do you feel now?" Wilhelmina asked.

Smiling, Helen closed her eyes. "Better. Much better." She sighed. "Tired."

Elio Gering asked another question, but she didn't hear him. She was already slipping into unconsciousness, her smile firmly in place.

/\

When she woke again, she was still in the same position she had fallen asleep in. Apparently, the good doctors had decided not to risk moving her, for which she was grateful.

Some of the accolo-nexum had curled up on the floor in one great big pile. Others still had their noses pressed to the glass, staring at her with eyes half-lidded. As she blinked her eyes, she saw an accolo-nexum detach itself from the sleeping huddle and press its nose to the glass. Another turned away and headed for the pile. Almost like they were taking turns. Were they guarding her? Setting a kind of watch on her? To protect her, or to be sure she didn't leave?

Aching, she pushed herself up onto her elbows and finally looked around the room. There was no sign of Kate or Dr. Gering. Dr. Telares was asleep, pen in hand, slumped in a rather uncomfortable looking chair. Will smiled softly at her as her gaze fell on him. He was in another chair on the other side of the room. It creaked as he rose to his feet, grimacing slightly as he moved over to her side.

"Hey."

"How long was I asleep?" She asked.

"Oh, day or two." He gestured at Dr. Telares, who snored slightly. "She's barely taken her eyes off you. Worried she'll miss something significant."

Helen smiled at her friend, touched by the woman's dedication to knowledge.

"How you feeling?"

She shrugged. "Still improving. Feel like I could keep down solid food again."

Will grinned. "Good. We've got soup. Dr. Telares added some of the abnormals natural foods to the mix. Something that looks a little like Broccoli, a herb, and some kind of meat. Makes it taste funny, but we're not sure what you'll need. Or rather, what the... um, little one will need."

She nodded. "That would be nice, thank you."

He left.

She settled back down. Her hand moved up to her stomach, sliding over the blunt edge of her hip. She could feel her ribs and had to admit that it had been close. Another few days, her weight loss might have gotten her killed. Weakly, she rolled over onto her side and pressed herself back against the glass. Her eyes met the eyes of an accolo-nexum. It was the one that had, for lack of a better term, impregnated her.

His tongue reached out and swiped the glass.

Acted on a confusing impulse, she did the same, her smaller tongue not covering the distance of his.

The other accolo-nexum jumped up, an odd sound emitting from their throats. It was lower pitched than their keening. More of a hum. They were suddenly a writhing mass again. Dr. Telares started awake at the sound. She stared with eyes wide.

Will came back into the room. He froze.

Her heart skipped painfully. She put both hands on the glass, staring into the green eyes of the accolo-nexum. She found herself feeling connected to him. It wasn't as though she didn't know he was dangerous. She had a scar to prove it, but if she could have, she would have broken the glass to be closer. He reminded her of John, the way he had seemed to be before the entity got it's hold on him. Back when she had loved him. Yet somehow unlike him as well. So without even really thinking about it, she gave him John's first name. The one John himself had detested. "Montague."

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/\ Will's POV-

Will started in surprise, his first movement since walking through the door.

The excited accolo-nexum tilted their heads at the sound of Magnus' voice as they licked at the glass separating them. Realizing he was gaping at Magnus, Will closed his mouth with a click and turned his attention to the accolo-nexum that were staring adoringly at her. He finally moved, getting close, and laid a hand on her shoulder. The growl that issued from the abnormals throats stood his hair on edge. Being no stranger to that kind of menacing, he quickly removed his hand. "Magnus?"

She blinked up at him. Then pointed at one of the accolo-nexum. "That is the one you and I have met together before Will."

Will looked at the creature. "How can you tell?"

"I just can." Magnus settled down again and calmly received the soup Will had brought her. She drank it up greedily. He was thankful it stayed down and seemingly didn't make her feel nauseous.

"What did you do to make them react that way?" Dr. Telares questioned her.

Magnus shrugged. "I- just reacted. He licked the glass, I licked back."

"Hmm... Pack behavior?"

Though that didn't seem to be her intention, Magnus' answer only brought on the rush of questions Dr. Telares seemed to have in abundance. It seemed difficult for his boss to answer all of doctor's questions, which didn't surprise him. How did you describe instinctive feelings? He did shudder when she described the feeling of sunshine that the presence of the accolo-nexum brought though. It reminded him too much of the Nautilus incident. He'd been hesitant to go near submarines of any sort since he'd had to suffocate his boss and friend to death. He tried not to think of his struggle to bring her back. Ever.

"If this glass was not in the way, I've a feeling I would be doing even better."

Will exchanged an uneasy look with Dr. Telares. "I don't think that would be a good idea, Magnus." He spoke up. "They are carnivorous, after all."

"They are omnivores, thank you, and so are most humans. It is highly doubtful they would harm me while I carry one of their young, Will." She frowned. "Something still feels off. It worries me."

It worried him to, but he couldn't think of anything to say. The danger couldn't just be ignored, especially since she seemed to have regained some of her color.

"Perhaps you just need time to recuperate. It'll probably be several days before you can leave this facility at all. Give it time." Dr. Telares said gently.

"Perhaps." Magnus relented.

It seemed a little too easy to get her to agree, but Will chopped it up to her sickness.

She leaned back, getting right up back next to the glass. "Enough Wilhelmina. I'm very tired, I think more sleep could only improve my condition, don't you?"

Though disappointed, Dr. Telares agreed.

/\

Magnus' health continued to improve as the days passed. Will came by often to check on her, giving her updates and trying to lift her spirits. It was clearly getting more aggravating to her to be on, what she swore again and again, was the wrong side of the glass. Something was still not right. Even he could sense it. He was even tempted to try it her way. However, it seemed to be the one thing Dr. Gering and Dr. Telares could agree upon about her treatment.

After a week, Magnus made an outdoors trip to get some fresh air with him. It was a pleasant walk, but she clearly felt off balance, like there was a problem with her inner ear. More than once, he had to put out a supporting arm to help her keep her balance. The dread settled down into the pit of his stomach at that. She was usually always so graceful.

Her health didn't seem to be adversely affected by the jaunt though. When they returned, it was to deafening noise. "What is that?" Will shouted, putting his hands over his ears.

Magnus didn't listened, she was already sprinting as fast as she could toward it. She almost ran right into Dr. Telares, skidding around the woman and entering the room they had left shortly before. Will was right behind her. He grabbed a frantic Dr. Telares by the shoulders and shook her, trying to get her to calm down. Before he could ask any questions though, the noise faded to a less ear-splitting timbre. He looked over.

The accolo-nexum had spotted Magnus. Then a whole new noise replaced the previous as the abnormals began banging the glass, throwing themselves bodily into it.

"Dios Mio..." Dr. Gering whispered, having come in behind them, trailing off as he stared at the accolo-nexum's frenzy.

One creature smashed so hard against the glass, he started to bleed, but didn't cease. The accolo-nexum seemed too desperate to care.

"No!" Magnus rushed forward, shaking off Will's halfhearted warning hand and pressed herself to the glass. "Please, stop!"

To everyone's surprise, the accolo-nexum obeyed. Their keening wails sounded almost heart broken to Will's ears. They pressed en masse to the glass in echo of Magnus' stance.

"I'm here, I'll not be going anywhere again anytime soon, I promise you. It's okay. Hush, hush." She was murmuring soothingly.

Blood on the glass before her face turned Will's stomach, but he couldn't look away. It was beautiful, in a horrible sort of way.

Magnus was shaking, crouched next to the glass, completely ignoring him and the room's other occupants. When she finally spoke over her shoulder, anger and outrage made her voice raise by octaves. "This should not have happened. It would not have happened if you would listen to me. This kind of injury is inexcusable. I need to be in there, with them. I'm still missing something, something they can give me, I know it. I know I can help them. Please." She pressed her cheek to the glass, clenching her jaw as though holding back other words she wanted to utter.

Will hesitated. This incident did seem to support her argument, but it also proved how unstable the accolo-nexum could be. And Magnus? To say she wasn't in her right mind was an understatement. "It's too dangerous, Magnus." He answered gently.

She didn't respond.

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/\ Magnus' POV

Couldn't they feel it? The rush of emotions, the force of the creatures' proximity. She nodded as though she understood what Dr. Gering was saying to her, but she didn't. She wasn't listening. There was something wrong, something inside her seemed broken. It was something she had to fix if she and the life inside of her were to survive. Unconsciously, her hand raised to cup her stomach protectively. Though she had at first felt like there was an intruder in her body, forcing on her a betrayal of her own flesh and blood now gone, things had changed. This was a precious life. There was no way in bloody hell she was going to let it die. Not like her Ashley.

She looked around at Will and Wilhelmina close by, then back at Elio. No, they didn't understand, but they couldn't keep her away anymore, she would make sure of it.

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Helen dressed in a loose gray tank top over a tight fitting workout bra. Her hair was braided loosely over one shoulder. Her leggings stopped just above her knees, form fitting and soft, but stretchable. Her feet were bare. Kate had brought the clothing at her request. Will was getting her more food, also at her request. Once she was dressed, it wasn't hard to distract Wilhelmina with a statement on the accolo-nexum so that she could slip away out the door. She heard and felt the accolo-nexum getting increasingly restless as she moved further away. Down the hall, passing a research lab, was the door marked carefully with warning signs. She ignored them.

No one would notice, until it was too late to stop her.

As she stepped into the habitat, the accolo-nexum were out of sight behind vegatation shoot upwards to the sun lamps. She stepped around where she could see the glass and the empty room beyond. A part of her recognized that at least Wilhelmina already knew she was missing. The accolo-nexum that had begun to panic stopped moving for a second.

On the other side of the glass, Will, Elio, and Wilhelmina all ran into the observation room. Will was searching for her. He spotted her as the abnormals broke into a run, loping toward her. "Magnus!" Will yelled. Beside him, Wilhelmina was open-mouthed with shock.

Helen closed her eyes and waited. She really didn't know what to expect. All she knew was that it was all she could do. But all she felt were warm noses pressed to her skin. Every part of her was in contact as the entire group crowded around. The keening began again, soft and with a joyful quality that made her heart race. The one that she had dubbed as Montague was the last and when he pressed his nose to her stomach, his sounds vibrating her skin gently, she felt something. There was almost an audible click as something fell into place. Relief and comfort washed over her. Sighing, she got down on her knees and clutched the accolo-nexum close. The low hum they had uttered before when she had named him Montague emitted from their collective throats, creating a resounding feeling down to her bones. After several minutes, she finally let go and a nose reached toward her face so a tongue could swipe at her cheek. She laughed.

The accolo-nexum made yipping sounds of joy in response, leaping around her animatedly. It was a feeling she couldn't describe, being here, able to be in physical contact with them. One was leaping around so joyfully, it was obviously the youngest. It reminded her of an overexcited puppy. She dubbed it Pup. One set his head in her lap as she sat back. She instantly associated him with the gentle and soothing actions of her father. It made her smile. She called him Elder in her mind. Another was rooting around in her clothing, a primal action of curiosity that made her think of Will, with his unending, probing questions into her past. He became Zim.

Each accolo-nexum individually came to touch her again, associating her with their quirks. Each she named. It was an inexplicable instinct. She didn't understand her desire to name them any more than her desire to press herself close to them. To be surrounded by them. To know them.

"Magnus."

Helen turned her head toward the glass, behind which Dr. Gering had joined Will and Dr. Telares in staring at her. "I'm alright, Will. I feel better than I have in months." She shifted to a sitting position, Montague crowding next to her shoulder. "I found it, what I was missing. I think I could step outside and not get the same reaction that I did before. Not that I want to leave right now anyway really."

"You're sure you're okay?" Will asked.

Pup nipped at her arm playfully, making her laugh. "Yes. Very."

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