Five Hours in Ye Old London

Chapter 13: There and Back Again Part 2

Meanwhile, in another time and place, the weary travelers found themselves entering the open atrium area of the Sanctuary's basement. They were finally home. Tesla, who had arrived first, threw out his arms and happily declared "Civilization. Thank God!" to an amused Watson and Henry who were seated nearby.

"Where are Helen and John?" James inquired as he stood up and stretched. It had been a long three days of worrying and waiting for the rescue of Helen from the past.

"They're coming," Nikola assured, "they're just saying their goodbyes."

Henry frowned as he stood too. "And Ashley? Where is she?" he asked worriedly. After no one could locate the child he had gone through all the security footage and discovered her following the vampire into the time portal. It had been too late to go after her since the portal had shut immediately after she had gone through.

"Don't get your canine knickers in a twist," Nikola quipped. "She's with her parents." To James, he smugly added, "My goddaughter was quite a hit with those on the other side. Younger Helen was quite impressed with my godfathering skills."

James gave him a knowing look. "I think the word you're looking for is Helen's disbelief at the idea of you being anyone's godfather."

"Oh, don't be jealous, Jimmy. Green doesn't become you. You had your shot at being godfather supreme. I can't help it if I'm naturally amazing," the wisecracking vamp shared as he headed across the room towards the elevator. He was thirsty for some decent wine and ready for the Wookie's excellent Hungarian cabbage rolls. Not that he'd admit that to anyone, especially the walking carpet. He heard the others arriving behind him and lingered long enough to make sure they were okay before continuing on his way.

The dog had arrived right after Tesla, having followed Nikola through the portal, and had gone straight to his owner happily wagging his tail back and forth in recognition. An appalled Watson had just uttered the words "what the hell are you wearing?" as he leaned down to greet his old friend when the others appeared.

"Winston," Ashley cried as she pulled her hands free from her parents' grasp to kneel down and hug the bulldog. She shrieked in protest as her father quickly grabbed the dog and shoved it hard back through the fading time portal yelling "No hitchhikers allowed!" after which Ashley had cried angrily, "But daddy!"

"Nice outfit," Watson teased Helen and was answered back with "You should have seen yours." He gave Helen a hard once over, noting her haggard look and the fading bruising around her face. She gave him a tired smile and surprised him by kissing him on the cheek. "You are a true friend," she whispered in gratefulness to all the help he had given her on both sides of the time portal.

"Always," he whispered back. He knew she was referring to both versions of him.

John, having disposed of the unwanted dog, found himself facing an upset mini-Helen. "Why did you do that?" Ashley demanded with her hands angrily poised on her little hips in a perfect imitation of her mother. "I wanted Winston!"

"He did not belong here," her father responded and quickly moved towards her mother in the hopes of distracting the child. His daughter could throw one heck of a temper tantrum when she wanted to. "How are you feeling?" he asked Helen, ignoring the stomping footsteps that trailed after him.

"Exhausted and in need of a good change of clothing," Helen admitted with a tired sigh. "A nice bubble bath and a long nap and I'll be good as new," she confidently stated. "Can you take care of Ashley's dinner?"

"First things first," John answered, pulling out the metallic objects from his coat pocket. Helen's breath caught as she remembered the radiation poisoning and she grabbed the items from his hand. Druitt quickly shed his coat, tossing it on a nearby table, and spun around to grab a hold of his daughter before she could take off. He sat her down on the table, amused at the sulky pout on her face, and positioned himself before her to block any possible exit. Helen moved beside him and laid down the items onto the table.

Grabbing one, Ashley held it up and shook it. She was ever hopeful that candy would fall out. Using her distraction, Helen picked another one up, pointed the end at the side of her daughter's throat and quickly pushed the vaccination in. Ashley's eyes widened and her little mouth briefly formed an O shape before she cried "OW!" loud enough to pierce her parent's ear drums. Helen twisted her hand to hide the item as Ashley turned to give her a death glare. "That hurt, mommy!" she growled and kicked her feet forward, just missing her father as he moved out of the way. "Stop doing that!"

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Helen responded with, "I'm sorry, darling. It won't happen again." The child's dark look and sulky, protruding bottom lip caused her to unintentionally smile. "Are you still hungry?" she asked. "I bet my old friend has prepared something really yummy for your dinner."

Perking up, Ashley squealed,"Pizza! I want pizza!"

"I'm sure he'll give you anything you want. He always does," her father commented as he picked up one of the vaccinations and poked himself in the side of his throat. Thank goodness this was all over. He really hated needles.

Helen helped her excited daughter down. "Your father can take you up to the kitchen for dinner. I'm going to take a bath," she informed the child as she reached for her own vaccination and stuck herself.

"Come on, daddy," the child ordered and grabbed a hold of one of his large hands to yank him forward.

"Join us," John requested of his best friend. "Have we got a lot to tell you," he teased.

Grinning, James followed them. "I can't wait."

"Hold on," Helen called after them and held up one of the two remaining vaccinations when they halted to look back at her. "Nikola forgot to take his."

The two men exchanged glances and smirked. Rolling her eyes, Helen continued, "Don't be petty. He helped get us home." John frowned, knowing she was right, and retrieved the object from her. As they exited the room John could be heard telling the other man in Latin, "We have a vampire to plot against. How do you feel about the color green?" and Watson snorting a reply of "What's he done now?"

Shaking her head, Helen stored the final vaccination into a drawer in her laboratory and then strolled towards the elevator herself. Almost two centuries later and she was still surrounded by juvenile boys. And what would she ever do without her boys she thought to herself with a smile.

Forty-five minutes later she was fully relaxed in a hot bubble bath with closed eyes and her head resting on a cushioned pillow. She had almost fallen asleep when she felt the water glide unexpectedly over her skin. One eye opened and then the other immediately followed due to the shocking sight before her. A very pale white bottom was lowering itself into her bath.

"Ashley!" Helen reprimanded as her daughter joined her. "What do you think you're doing, young lady?"

"I'm taking a bath with you," the child replied as she turned to face her mother.

"I wanted to bath alone," her mother answered in annoyance at having her meditative soak disturbed.

"It's more fun to bath with me," Ashley smartly replied as she waded across the waist high water to hit the button to activate the tub's jets. Grinning, she dumped more bubble bath into the tub before her mother could stop her and plopped down hard into the water, causing some to fly over the side of the extra large, extra long tub. Helen glared at the child, who had sunk down to her chin in the water, and sighed loudly. Her rambunctious daughter was a handful. She then laughed as Ashley said "I'm coming to get you, mommy" and glided from side to side like a crocodile as she made her way up her mother's body. "Got you!" the child giggled as she threw her arms around Helen's neck.

"You're a very naughty child," Helen chided in good humor as she hugged her brat to herself. "Whatever am I going to do with you, hmm?"

"Scrub my back," Ashley demanded as she turned in her mother's lap. "I'm itchy."

Observing the macaroni stuck to the back of her daughter's neck, Helen laughed again. "It's no wonder. How in the world did you get macaroni and cheese down the back of your dress? I thought you wanted pizza."

"The Big Guy said we were out of pizza and made me mac-n-cheese instead. He's going to make me pizza tomorrow," she answered and reached over to grab an empty cup to play in the water with. She was seated on her mother's lap and leaned forward as her back was being scrubbed clean with a wash cloth.

Dipping the cloth back in the water, Helen began to earnestly scrub her child down and convinced her to allow her hair to be washed again. How Ashley managed to get as dirty as often as she did always amazed her mother.

She had just finished rinsing Ashley's hair when a deep voice stated, "Well, if I'd known we were having family bath time I would have skipped dinner." Both looked up to find John leaning against the door frame and smiling at them.

"You can still join us," Ashley suggested as she waddled to the side of the tub and leaned over to grin at him.

He looked over at her mother, who gave him a "don't even think about it" look and grinned devilishly as he walked up and sat on the tub's edge and dipped his hand into the water near where her knee was peeking up in the water. Her wet hair was piled up high on top of her head and the upper half of her bare chest was visible above the water. It was quite an enticing view.

"There's not enough room," she warned, pointing a finger at him. "Besides, we're done."

"No we're not," Ashley contradicted. "I want to swim in the water." She sunk down quickly into the water, splashing both of her parents with water. "Ashley," both groaned in unison and swiped at the water on their faces. They watched as she popped up here and there in the tub as she swam around.

"Will you get her a change of clothing while I wrestle her out of the water?" Helen asked as she fished with her hands for Ashley under the water. He stood, grabbing a hand towel to dab at his wet face and shirt and left the room. By the time he returned, they were in the dressing area of their bedroom. Helen was wrapped in a robe, seated on her makeup stool and blow drying their daughter's hair.

Seeing the clothing in her father's hand, Ashley dropped the towel she had wrapped around her and proclaimed unabashedly, "I'm nekkie, daddy!" with a big giggle.

"I can see that, you naughty child," he retorted with a soft laugh and tapped her little button nose. Bending down, he helped her into her underwear and pajamas as Helen turned the dryer on her own hair. Afterwards, he went into the back part of the bathroom to shower himself. Under the hot streaming water, John felt the aches and bruises from the last three days and tiredly rested his head against the frosted glass wall as the jets beat against his body. It had been a very long three days and the horrifying scenes of Adam holding the younger Helen in a death grip and Ashley arriving unexpectedly in old London flashed through his numbing brain. So much could have gone badly wrong if the wrong choices had been made. He sent a silent prayer to God for delivering his family to safety.

In the outer room, Helen put away the dryer and wandered back into the bathroom to pick up the discarded clothes on the floor. Her eyes briefly flickered over to where John was showering. If he hadn't shown up when he did Adam might have succeeded in killing her younger counterpart before either she or James would have been able to stop him. John was nothing if not good in a fight.

Glancing down at the Victorian dress Ashley had worn, Helen reflected on the day's events. Ashley's arrival at the old London Sanctuary had deeply affected them all. The stricken look on her younger self's face when Ashley was departing would scar her for life. It was a vivid reminder of all the pain and loneliness she had endured waiting for the right time to have her baby. She clutched the dress to her chest as a soft sob escaped her lips. Biting her lip, she willed herself to stop before she ended up collapsing uncontrollably in tears. Sniffing, she reminded herself that she needed to pull herself together and tuck her daughter into bed. Ashley was waiting for her.

Tossing the clothes into the laundry basket, Helen stiffened her spine and set off to go to Ashley's bedroom only to come to a dead halt by her bed. Ashley, who was supposed to be waiting for her mother in her own bedroom, was tucked under the covers in the center of her parent's bed and gave her mother a drowsy yawn.

Sitting down on the bed, Helen shook her head at the child. "You are supposed to be in your own bed," she chided as she lovingly stroked Ashley's face. "Remember, we talked about you being a big girl and sleeping in your own bed?" she prompted.

Sleepily, Ashley flashed a dimpled smile and then murmured, "Why did Cousin Helen call me her sweet baby?"

Unprepared for the question, Helen blinked several times in surprise as she tried to think of a proper response. "You remind her of her daughter," Helen finally answered with a sniff as her eyes started to water again.

"Her sweet baby?" Ashley repeated with another yawn as her eyes fluttered shut and her breathing deepened.

Leaning down, Helen pressed her lips against the child's temple and closed her eyes as a single tear made its way down her cheek. "My sweet baby," she murmured as she listened to the rise and fall of her child's breathing. Exhaustion slamming back into her, she sat upright to remove her robe. Sliding into bed, she gathered the sleeping girl into her arms and pulled the covers up over them.

Minutes later, John found himself standing mesmerized by the bed. He had been on his way to tuck his daughter into bed only to find her asleep in her mother's arms in their bed. Wrapping his large hands around one of the bed's four posts, he leaned his weary head against the cool wood and silently stared at his girls. Everything that truly mattered to him was on that bed. Soon, his eyes tried to flutter shut and he heard antique grandfather clock two doors down chime two a.m. Yawning John pushed away from the post, flicked off the lamp on Helen's side of the bed and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. He then made his way to his side of the bed, climbed in, and leaned over to kiss his precious daughter. His last thought as he sunk into deep sleep was of him promising the younger Helen that he would take good care of his family.

Author's note: One more chapter to go to wrap up this little story. Writing Ashley as a child has been a lot of fun.