Five Hours in Ye Old London

Chapter 9: Ashley and The Four

Pushing himself up from the floor, a parched James headed back to the side table. "I need a drink. Anyone else want one?" he asked as he reached for the sherry bottle. He hadn't laughed this hard in quite a while. Druitt and blonde Helen both held up their hands indicating they wanted some.

The darker version of Helen shook her head, standing instead to head over to the round table where she poured herself another cup of tea. It was lukewarm but now that she knew she was expecting Helen was careful to watch her intake of alcohol. Ashley, trailing after her mother, asked for a Capri-Sun to drink.

"Darling, we don't have any of those here. You'll have to wait until we get home. How about some tea or water?"

Ashley wrinkled up her little nose and groaned. "I don't want those. How about Kool-Aid? The grape kind?"

"Sorry, none of that here either," Helen answered as she finished preparing her tea and began fixing a scone for herself. She was entering her third month of pregnancy and, as she was having a good stomach day, decided she was going to take advantage of eating while she could keep it down.

Giving a little whine, Ashley bounced up and down and suggested, "A fruit smoothie?"

"A fruit smoothie?" her mother replied with a laugh. "Yeah, not happening. We are definitely going to have to watch your sugar intake when we get home," she said semi-sternly to the child as she tried to recall how many of these types of sugary drinks her daughter ingested weekly. "You can have water or tea," she repeated.

Not answering, the girl turned away as a movement through the small gap in the curtains caught her attention. Moving over to the window, Ashley poked her face through the two layers of curtains, one a light lace and the other a heavier blackout fabric, to stare out of the window. Below she took in the bustling street scene with great interested. The first floor of the Magnus home was raised five feet above the busy street, partly to help cut down on the noise. Ashley's eyes got large as one of the horse drawn carriages came to a halt at the house next door and a lady in a bright gown and feathered hat descended from the carriage. "Wow," she gushed and turned quickly to rush out of the room.

"Ashley!" Helen cried and heavily dropped her cup down onto its saucer to chase after her errant child. Loud footsteps echoed down the hall as both rushed toward the front entrance. Helen just managed to yank her daughter back into the house before the child could get out the front door.

"Let go, mommy!" Ashley protested and tried to pull away as her mother slammed the door shut.

"What's going on?" a confused John demanded as he arrived to find Helen with an iron grip on their struggling daughter.

"That's what I'd like to know," Helen answered as she turned and practically dragged their daughter back to the drawing room. "Ashley, stop!" she ordered as she ushered her into the room. The other Helen was on her feet, alarmed at child's sudden flight, and watched the scene with increasing concern on her lovely face.

"But, mommy, I want to see the lady in the princess dress and pet the horse!" Ashley cried and tried to pull free again. "I want to ride in the carriage."

"You cannot go outside," her mother fussed as she bent down to give her disobedient child a stern glare. "It's dangerous."

"It is not," the girl disagreed and, managing to pull free, turned to run back out only to find her father blocking the doorway. Druitt slammed the door shut and shook his head down at his daughter. "Your mother has forbid you to leave the house, young lady."

"But daddy, I want to go see the horse," the six year old demanded and stomped her feet angrily. "It's going to be gone if you don't move!"

John merely flattened his feet on the ground and placed his hands on his hips. "Enough, Ashley," he softly but sternly said. "Obey your mother."

"I don't wanna," the stubborn child retorted as she rushed back over to the window. "The horse is going away!" she cried and turned back to give her parents a pouty glare. "I didn't get to pet it because of you!" she accused.

"You'll live," John sighed and exchanged looks with the mother of his child. It was inevitable that any child of his and Helen's would be stubborn but there were times when he wondered how any parent made it to the next day without throttling their offspring. As this was Helen's second go round with rearing Ashley she had a good idea of what to expect and do but for John it was all a new and, at times, frustrating experience. Still, he wouldn't trade his stubborn little princess for anything. She was a perfect little blend of her parents. Noticing the worry on the younger version of his beloved's face he shook his head and mouthed, "Stubborn," in reference to their child. She nodded back in agreement and a little smile appeared at the corner of her lip.

"In two days time you will get to pet plenty of animals," her mother threw out to avert another temper tantrum. "Some of which are related to horses." Returning to the table, Helen retrieved her cold cup of tea and sopped up the spilt tea on the table with her napkin.

Interest piqued, Ashley forgot the horse and carriage outside and came back to her mother's side. "I do?" she asked in surprise.

Pleased that her plan worked, Helen began pouring herself a fresh cup of tea. "You do if you can behave yourself like a good little girl. The Old City Zoo is hosting their annual evening gala and I've bought us a table, complete with several very special golden tickets." She poured some milk into her tea and slowly twirled her spoon to mix the liquids. "Want to know what those tickets are for?" she teased as she sat down.

"Uh huh," Ashley asked as she rested her hands on her mother's knees and looked up at her with bright eyes.

"Well, the first golden ticket is for…" Helen began before taking a long sip to prolong the suspense. She almost spilled some of the tea on herself when her anxious child tugged on the waist of her dress and said "For what, mommy?"

Giving a soft laugh, she said, "Feeding a baby giraffe. Do you know how one of those eats?" she asked and grinned as her enthusiastic child shook her head. Helen balled up her fist. "A giraffe has a long, black tongue that it uses," she explained as she slowly unrolled her fist, "to reach out and grab its food and pull it back into its mouth," she continued as her fingers tickled the child before pulling back into a fist.

"Ew!" Ashley giggled in delight.

"Ew is right," Tesla chimed in. "Some of us are drinking here," he complained as he waved his wine glass at Helen, who flashed him a dimpled smile in return. For a vampire Tesla was the most squeamish of the group.

"I get to feed a baby giraffe?" Ashley interrupted, wanting confirmation.

"You and one other," Helen confirmed. "Each ticket is for two people."

"I want you to feed the giraffe with me," the eager child declared and hugged her mother's knees.

"Deal," Helen said and reached down to stroke her daughter's golden head. The child could be a major brat when she was unhappy or fussed but overall she was generally a happy and vibrant child. One just had to know to divert the child's endless energy whenever a tantrum threatened to take place.

"What are the other golden tickets for?" John asked, coming over to sit in a chair near his family. "I might want in on this deal," he said as he lightly pulled on his daughter's pony tail and smiled down at her.

"Well, another ticket is for hand feeding birds in the tropical aviary," Helen shared as she picked up her forgotten scone and took a bite. She smiled as the sugary delight hit her taste buds and lowered the scone down to Ashley after the child opened her mouth to indicate she wanted a bite.

"Ah, that one would be right up my alley," Nikola pointed out. "Put me down for that one. I wonder if there will be any pigeons."

"There are always pigeons about. They are rats with wings," John grumbled. "And who said you were going on the zoo trip?"

"Everyone is going," Helen commanded and gave the father of her child a reprimanding look. "I have bought a whole table and The Four will accompany Ashley to this outing in early celebration of her birthday."

"Happy birthday to me," Ashley sung out, causing all the adults to laugh. "Do I get presents too?"

"On your actual birthday you will," John answered, "And no, we are not going to tell you what the presents are yet. You will just have to wait."

"The four?" James questioned.

John smirked at him. "There are four of us left."

"Interesting," Watson replied and smirked back. From John's smirk at him and Nikola's frown James deduced that he was the other member of The Five still alive. Had it been Nigel, Tesla would have let it be known as he was fond of the youngest member of the group.

"What else do I get to do, Mommy?" Ashley asked as she climbed into her mother's lap.

"Let's see," Helen murmured as she racked her brain to remember which of the ticket options she had selected when she purchased the table seating for the charity event. "I think there's a ticket for the reptile house to pet a boa and lizard, maybe?"

Nikola smirked and said, "Reptiles. Right up your alley, Johnny boy."

Helen cut Druitt off before he could give a snarky reply. "Actually, I think Henry would enjoy attending the reptile house with Ashley."

"Wolf boy likes reptiles?" Tesla wondered aloud, "Isn't that a confusion of the order of the food chain?"

Coming to sit on the other side of Helen, her younger counterpart looked at the child in wonder. "You aren't afraid of touching the reptiles?" she asked the child.

"Uh uh," Ashley grinned as she reached for her mother's cup of tea for a sip. "I'm not scared at all. We have a lizard man who lives in the Sanctuary with us and he's nice. His name is Bill."

"You have a lizard man living with you?" James repeated with a raised eyebrow as he stood up and walked over to join them.

"We have a lot of things living with us," John said dryly. "It's positively a zoo. Dr. Magnus does like her beasties, don't you my dear?"

"I like the beasties too," Ashley piped up and ate the remains of her mother's scone. Helen cut through another scone and prepared it with more cream and jam, mindful of the two little hands residing on either side of her plate. She wasn't surprised when Ashley grabbed one half of the sweet but was caught off guard when John reached over and took the other half as he proclaimed, "Like mother like daughter." He grinned and bit into the scone as Helen shot him a disgruntled look. Rolling her eyes, Helen began the process again as she corrected, "They are not beasties, they are abnormals. And the Sanctuary is not a zoo."

"Potato, po-tat-toe, same difference" John retorted as he finished off his scone. Noticing him eyeing her new scones, Helen tilted her knife up and pointed it at him in warning, causing him to grin again. "What other activities are there going to be at this zoo event?" he asked as he reached over to make his own scone.

"There will horse carriage rides," she said and laughed as Ashley leaned her head back to stare up at her with a jam smeared grin as she cried "Oh boy!"

"I'll do that one with you," John called.

"I'll pass on that one," Nikola muttered as he refilled his glass.

"What about me? I mean, the other James," Watson asked. "I am sure he would want to be part of the fun," he said as he smiled at the golden child who was once again in need of a wash. She had finished off her mother's tea, leaving a jam smear on the rim that her mother was eyeing with disfavor.

"Oh, well there's always the shooting gallery in the arcade," Helen suggested, amused by his desire to join in on the family activities. "The games are often rigged to make them difficult to win and James is a rather good shot so I am sure he will be able to win at the games."

"What's an arcade?" Ashley asked as she reached for the teapot and frowned as her 'cousin' Helen grabbed it first and poured more tea into the empty cup. The blonde, having grown accustom to the child's personality, merely smirked back at her in response to the frown.

"It's an area filled with different types of games and prizes." John looked at James as he continued to tell his daughter, "You just need to point to the toy you want and I am sure that your uncle James will win it for you." James grinned and nodded his head as if in consent.

"Okay," Ashley said excitedly and peered back up at her mother. "Can we go to the zoo now?"

"In two days," she reminded her. "If you're good."

"I'll be good," the child promised as she began to pour milk and then dump large spoonfuls of sugar into her mother's teacup. The two Helens frowned at the concoction then each reached for the sugar and milk creamer to move them out of the child's grasp. "Yuck," Ashley said and stuck her tongue out after tasting her tea blend.

Draining the remainder of his wine, Nikola announced, "Well kids, I think it's time we head back downstairs. The portal should be ready within the half hour."

"So soon?" the blonde gasped, turning to stare at the child she would not get to see again for almost a century.

"I'm afraid so," Nikola answered, giving her a sympathetic look. He had seen firsthand how much she loved her child.

The room got very quiet suddenly and the child noticed the sad looks the adults shared with one another. "You can come home with us too," Ashley offered her new relatives. "We have a big house."

"I am afraid that isn't possible," the blonde answered softly as she twisted her hands together in her lap. How in the world was she going to let her daughter leave? She felt a hand squeeze her shoulder and knew it was James's way of giving her courage to do the inevitable.

John gave Helen a concerned look as his eyes volleyed between her and her younger version. He knew that the parting was going to be painful.

"We still have a little time," Helen said to lighten the heavy mood in the room.

"Of course we do," James said as he met her eyes and gave her a soft smile while he once again gave the younger Helen a squeeze on the shoulder.

When no one moved, Nikola suggested, "Shall we?" and began to stroll towards the door. He was not one for maudlin goodbyes and he was looking forward to the Sasquatch's excellent Hungarian cabbage rolls for dinner. Besides, it wasn't as if they were leaving Helen and James behind. Only their younger incarnations.

"Are we going down the secret staircase again?" Ashley asked as her mother placed her on the ground and bounced up and down happily as Helen nodded. She took her mother's hand and then held out the other to the other Helen. Taking the child's hand, the blonde smiled again and the trio headed off after Tesla.

Behind them, John and James stared after the trio until they had exited the room then looked at one another. "That's just weird," John said with a shake of his head.

"I know. Two Helens," James added with a shake of his head. "That alone is enough to bring the universe to a crashing halt." The two men laughed and headed out after their group.