A/N: No particular prompt on this one - it immediately follows my last post-Pax Romana ficlet (Chapter 2).
Nikola kept his arm around Helen for the duration of their trip down to the infirmary, occasionally pressing a light kiss to her temple. Once there, he reluctantly relinquished his hold on her so she could look the children over, presumably to make sure their brains hadn't melted from all the incredible things they had seen and he had not. (He planned on being bitter about that for a while.)
Helen had continued leaning into him on the way down, practically snuggling into his shoulder in a contented way that made Nikola's breath catch in his throat. Helen wasn't often this openly affectionate, even granted that he hadn't tried to take over the world lately. As happy as Nikola was about it, it did surprise him. But she'd been through a lot in the last several days, and he would bet several bottles of her wine that it had taken more of a toll on her than she would admit, certainly in front of the kids. If he could provide any measure of comfort, he was more than willing to do so. And if there was anybody who understood what a sudden dose of imminent demise felt like after a hundred years of complacent immortality, it was Nikola.
Since he couldn't do what he really wanted to (wrap himself tightly around Helen and never let go), he settled for leaning against the infirmary wall, keeping his eyes on Helen, and dropping the occasional witty remark into the others' conversation, grinning at her every time she rolled her eyes at him.
From the tidbits he was overhearing, it had been even more of an interesting trip than he'd thought. The dragon was cool enough, but it sounded like there was a whole world of intrigue and, of course, ridiculously advanced technology waiting underneath the surface. Nikola was already plotting how to get Helen to take him next time. Or go by himself.
He had been thinking, earlier, about whether he would stay once they got back (if they got back ringing through his head the whole time), and plumbing the depths of Hollow Earth was certainly a worthy endeavor to skip town for. Especially since the locals didn't seem to want anybody down there. It made him wonder what they were hiding.
But Nikola didn't especially relish the thought of taking off just now. He'd gotten somewhat attached to the Sanctuary in his time here studying the map, and of course there was Helen, whom he was even more unwilling to leave, now, when she'd come so close to-
"Nikola," Helen interrupted his musing, raising her eyebrows at the various medical instruments that had begun to float in the air.
"Oh. Sorry." He forced a toothy smile and unnecessarily waved his hand, getting his rebellious magnetic field under control.
"Thank you." She went back to work, peering at Henry's leg.
It seemed to take ages until Helen finally pronounced them all fine and dandy – Nikola had nearly had a heart attack when she'd said they'd "suffered no ill effects from being killed."
"What the hell?!" He'd shot upright from his lazy position against the wall.
"Yeah, not as cool as it sounds," Henry had interjected.
"Nothing to worry about, Nikola," Helen had said, giving him a knowing look, her lips actually twitching. "A little Praxian technology we weren't expecting, to say the least."
"Being killed is usually something to worry about," he'd pointed out. "Trust me, I speak from experience."
Now, Helen watched the kids filing out of the room, off to get some rest – or, as Kate phrased it, "become one with the bed."
Nikola watched Helen, and proof of his earlier theory was written all over her face: she was tired. In a good mood – apparently she considered her sojourn in Hollow Earth an overall success, despite the rough patches – but exhausted. He wondered if she'd slept at all on the way home. Tonight, Nikola was going to make certain she got a decent night's rest, no matter what he had to do to ensure it.
When the door shut behind Henry, Nikola felt a strong urge to go over and hug Helen again. Instead, he pushed himself off the wall and went over to stand by her, eyes tracking her hands as she cleared up the infirmary.
"Don't you have a butler for that?" he asked.
Helen smiled a little. "I don't mind cleaning up after myself. Unlike some of us," she added mischievously.
Nikola rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, putting a hand over his chest. "And here I've been all responsible today – remarkably so, really, I should get some credit for that. It probably won't happen again."
"Sorry, Nikola." Helen didn't sound especially sorry. "I really am grateful to you for staying. Though I'm glad you didn't have to deal with any Sanctuary crises." She pretended to shudder. "God only knows what chaos would ensue."
"Hey!" he protested. "I do all my best work under pressure."
She narrowed her eyes. "Is that so?"
"Case in point: the vampire shield. I had what, a couple of days to make that? And it's even stylish and everything."
Helen laughed for just a little too long for Nikola not to feel that his vampire shield was being rather slighted. "You may remember I just told you it didn't work," she pointed out at length.
"Actually, you said it 'needed work.' Which is still insulting, frankly, but I'm willing to forgive you if you keep your over-enthusiastic butler out of my wine cellar for a few weeks."
"Your wine cellar?" Helen repeated, eyes twinkling. "My, someone's feeling at home."
Oops. Nikola had been hoping to keep his reflections about his life at the Sanctuary – more specifically, his reluctance to leave – to himself for a while. "Well," he said defensively, "I'm just…giving it the attention it deserves. A good home, if you will. If you're not going to appreciate it…" He made sure to exaggerate his accusing tone so as to distract Helen.
It didn't work for a second. "Then you'll take it off my hands? Going to adopt the lab next, are you? Take it with you on your travels?" She tilted her head, her eyebrows raised. Helen was always extra sarcastic when she knew she had him backed into a corner.
"God, no. Someone should put that thing out of its misery."
"Hmm." She chuckled, but thankfully let the subject drop after that. "Well, regardless, your vampire shield really does need some improvement. I can give you the details on how the Praxian scanner reacted to it, if you'd like."
"If you'd be so kind, my lady," Nikola said, giving her a deep, elaborate bow. He looked up to see Helen rolling her eyes, but with a reassuringly fond smile.
"But first!" He offered his hand to her, grinning. "I have to show you something."
Helen looked down at his hand, hovering expectantly between them, then glanced back up at him with another raised eyebrow. "Oh? Should I be worried?"
"Aww, don't you have any faith in me?"
"Well, I did just leave you mostly alone in my Sanctuary for an extended period of time…"
"Please," Nikola scoffed. "I'm the very picture of responsibility."
Helen snorted inelegantly. "I think the power's gotten to your head."
"Your shoddy power system, maybe." Nikola reverted to his previous topic before he insulted too many other parts of the Sanctuary. "You'll like this, really."
Shaking her head with another slight smile, Helen took his hand. "Alright. But I'm taking any damages out of your salary."
"You don't pay me."
"Then you'll just have to owe me, won't you?" She gave him a look that nearly made him melt.
"I can live with that."
"Really, Nikola, this is childish," Helen complained, nearly bumping into another table.
"Well of course it is, it's me. Just keep your eyes closed for one more step. There." Nikola reluctantly dropped his hand from Helen's elbow, where he had been using it to guide her.
Helen immediately opened her eyes and looked around. "This is my office."
"Yes, it is."
"It's remarkable," she said sarcastically. "However did you manage to find it? Truly, a great discovery worthy of the genius of Nikola Tesla."
"Why, thank you, Helen," Nikola said, beaming. "I always knew you thought of me as a genius."
Helen pursed her lips. "What did you want me to see?"
"Well, not see so much as consume…"
Her brow furrowed.
Nikola stepped aside and waved a hand towards the small table by the couch, where two steaming cups of tea sat waiting. "I made you tea," he said simply. "I thought you could use it." For as long as he had known her, tea had been Helen's preferred method of relaxation, and after the week she'd just had, he'd suspected a little relaxation wouldn't go amiss. He had to admit, though, his motives hadn't been entirely unselfish. Making it had also calmed Nikola's rattled nerves during the seemingly endless wait for Helen to get home from Hollow Earth. Just the smell of it reminded him of her, which he had rather needed at the time.
"Nikola," Helen said softly, sarcasm melting away. She met his eyes as he cleared his throat, feeling uncharacteristically nervous.
"As interim Sanctuary leader, I felt it my duty to carry my role out completely," he said to cover it up, waving her on. "Come on, have some. It's just the way you like it."
She crossed over to the couch and examined one of the cups, touching it lightly. "It's still hot," she said, sounding surprised. "Did you sneak off while I was in the infirmary?"
"No, I made it right before you got home," Nikola said, following her to the couch and sitting down next to her. "I just took the liberty of enhancing one of your tea warmers a bit. If you ever wanted something kept hot through a raging blizzard, you need look no further."
"I'll, ah, keep that in mind," Helen said, chuckling. She took a cautious sip. "This is…quite good, actually."
"No need to sound so surprised," Nikola said. "I think after a hundred years I should at least remember how you take your tea."
"You'll have to excuse my pessimism. I'm only remembering the last time you tried to cook for me," Helen said. From her wide smirk, she was clearly deriving a great deal of amusement from the memory.
"August 27th, 1940," Nikola said automatically.
"You tried to 'do something special' for my 90th birthday."
Nikola winced. "It was an isolated incident."
"Poor Nigel was never the same," Helen teased, her voice shaking with laughter.
"Nigel always did have dreadful taste," Nikola said, but with no real venom – even a touch of distant fondness.
Helen took another sip, laughter fading down gradually.
Nikola leaned back, watching Helen drink her tea with a warm feeling of contentment spreading through him. "Alright, Helen, spill," he said after a while.
"Excuse me?"
"You promised me details about Hollow Earth. Tell me about the dragons first. No." He raised a hand. "Tell me about the zeppelins. Better yet, tell me about all of that lovely Praxian technology just sitting there waiting for me to have fun with."
"How about I tell you about your vampire shield, so you can work on it?"
"My my. Are you already plotting to go back to Hollow Earth, even though they kicked you out? How contrary of you." Nikola grinned. "Have I told you lately that I love the way you think?"
Over the years, Helen had mastered the fine art of mysterious smiles. She gave him one now. "I believe you may have mentioned something of the sort."
"Well then, since it's for a good cause, go ahead. I need all the information I can get if we're going to make it to Hollow Earth again without being detected this time. Oh, and will you make sure Junior gets me everything I need? I'll be making another vampire shield too – you know, so you can bring me along next time. I'm not missing out on it again."
"I'll talk to Will," Helen promised. He noticed she didn't immediately shoot down his plan to come with her – a hopeful sign. "I take it you'll be staying for a while?"
"Yeah, a while," Nikola echoed, looking down. He had to leave eventually, of course – there was too much of his work that didn't gel with Helen's. Still… "Without access to the scanner itself, it may take me some time to figure out all those problems you seem to enjoy reminding me of."
He could work on the shield here or elsewhere, it didn't really matter much, but it was as good a justification as any for staying with Helen for the time being.
"I understand," Helen said, and he was quite sure she did. She reached over to grasp his hand lightly. "You know that you are always welcome here, Nikola."
Nikola swallowed, turning his hand over and running his thumb along the outside of Helen's hand. "Thank you, Helen," he said quietly.
She kissed his cheek, lips brushing against his skin just long enough for him to close his eyes and bend his head towards her in a futile attempt to prolong their contact. With her free hand, she squeezed his shoulder briefly. Maybe she wanted to extend the moment, too, because she rested her forehead against his, fingers sliding down his arm gently. Nikola kept his eyes shut, letting himself just breathe Helen in for a minute, a minute that ended far too soon. He opened them when she pulled away and picked her teacup back up.
"Now, details," she said. "Technology first, because I'm feeling generous."
"Oh Helen, my dear, you're too good to me."
"Dragons, huh?"
"Yeah. I mean, I wasn't there for that part, but still...Pretty crazy, right?"
"Hmm. Glad you all got home safe." The big guy's tone was gruff, but then it was always gruff, so Kate didn't take offense.
She grinned instead. "Aww, didn't know you cared."
"Thought I might not be able to beat anyone on Guitar Hero for a while."
"Har har." Memories of her last crushing defeat running through her mind, Kate thought it was time to change the subject. "Say, you have anything special planned for that?" She waved a hand at the tray Bigfoot was carrying, loaded down with a teapot and, more importantly, a couple of plates of delicious looking goodies.
He glanced at it. "It's for Magnus. She always has some after long missions."
"Think she'd miss any of those cookies too much?"
The big guy leveled an unimpressed look at her. Kate could swear he and Magnus did the exact same one sometimes.
"Come on, I'm starving," she pleaded. "We had to eat crappy airplane food on the way home."
"One," he said at last.
Grinning again, Kate immediately grabbed it off the plate and downed half of it in one bite. "Thanks."
He grunted.
"So," she continued, finishing off the cookie and brushing the crumbs off. "Have fun while we were gone? What was it like being all alone with Tesla? Did you have to thwart any world domination schemes?"
"Nah. He kept interrupting me while I was trying to clean. Thought he was in charge." Bigfoot huffed quietly with laughter. "I barely noticed him otherwise."
"Huh," Kate said, eyeing the tray a little hungrily. "That's weird. I always had him pegged as the kind of guy who liked to make himself seen. And heard. Loudly."
Another grunt. "He was worried."
"About Magnus? Yeah, I kinda got that from the way he was clinging to her earlier. He was practically drooling into her hair."
Bigfoot snorted. "Thought we might have to pry them apart with a crowbar."
They both laughed at the image, and Kate took the opportunity to snitch another cookie off the tray.
"I saw that," he said.
"No you didn't."
They reached Magnus' office in a few more minutes and stopped in front of the door.
"Wanna bet the count's in there with her?" Kate said, nudging the big guy in the ribs. Or as close to the ribs as she could reach, anyway.
Chuckling, Bigfoot knocked on the door, but there was no answer.
"Are you sure she's there?" Kate asked. "I would've thought she'd have wanted to get some rest. Like I was on my way to, when somebody distracted me. Or," as another idea occurred to her, "they seemed really happy to see each other. Do you think they're, you know…" His head swung around to give her another scarily Magnus-esque look and she trailed off.
He knocked again, then, looking a little concerned, tried the door. It was unlocked, and slid open smoothly. Kate sidled in after him and took in Magnus' empty desk, then glanced around the room.
"Hey," she said softly, elbowing him again and gesturing to their right. "Check it out. Looks like somebody beat you to the tea punch."
Empty tea things were scattered on the small table. Magnus and Tesla were on the couch, but if they'd been interrupted in the middle of anything, they were doing a damn good job of bluffing.
On closer inspection, they were both way, way out of it. Tesla's legs were stretched out in front of him (Kate heard a strangled noise from Bigfoot, no doubt at the way his shoes were scuffing the glossy wooden table.) His arms were wrapped tightly around Magnus, whose head was pillowed on Tesla's shoulder. Even as Kate watched her, she shifted in his embrace, smiling faintly and tucking her own arm more securely around his waist. Tesla, his face buried in Magnus' hair, murmured something tenderly to her in his sleep, in a language Kate didn't understand.
Suddenly, Kate felt as if she were intruding on something more personal than if she'd walked in on them tearing each other's clothes off. She took a step back, bumping into the big guy, whose thoughts were apparently running along the same track. They practically tiptoed out of the office, though Kate suspected a horde of angry nubbins couldn't wake Magnus and Tesla at this point, and closed the door quietly behind them.
"Huh," Kate said. "That was…huh."
Bigfoot grunted and wordlessly offered her the platter of cookies. "Operation Paranormal marathon?" he asked after a while.
She took a bite and chewed thoughtfully. "Nah, I'm exhausted. Raincheck?"
"Sure."
With that, they separated and headed their own ways down the hall.