Not going to lie, writing Helena as vulnerable - is tough.

There are a lot of different ways this story line could have gone. I hope you'll enjoy the way this one turned out.

Picture Worth a Thousand Words

Helena never did get back to the basement that day as she had hoped. They had to get the living room back in order after the photo shoot and get themselves ready for their dinner guests. Myka felt they should at least be giving some thought as to how they might break the news to Gloria, but each time she suggested it, Helena gently dismissed the idea.

Miles away, in Queens, Irene Frederic was also getting ready, finding it impossible to venture a guess as to how this evening would go. She had come to like Gloria for her calm manner and caring approach to Myka and Helena. But how, she wondered, would she deal with the reality of what was about to land in her lap tonight. She knew Helena meant well in doing this, but worried that the Time Traveler was, as usual, rushing in where angels feared to tread. Still, she considered; Helena had never really felt compelled to tell anyone else this story and so, she decided to trust her friend's instinct.

Gloria stopped at the neighborhood bakery, having placed a special order for the petit fours she decided to bring. She wasn't sure what the menu was, but was certain the sweet confection would be a wonderful addition to any dessert selection. Then she chose her best black pants and a leopard print blouse she bought at Chico's, even though it wasn't on sale. With most of her hard earned money going to pay tuition, it was a rare treat for her to splurge on something for herself. She was always so grateful to have the boys two years apart when they were growing up, but she hadn't planned on two college tuitions to pay. Still, she managed to do just fine by being mindful of her expenses.

Acting on the request from her boss, Irene had called Gloria earlier in the day and asked her to please bring some items of her ancestor's that she thought would be significant for the display in the museum. Gloria chose the woman's unpublished manuscript, letters to Helena Wells, and some pictures.

Irene arrived first and came through the rear entrance, making it a point to ask Leena if everything was set for the dinner. "You're not usually nervous about these things," the astute woman noticed.

"Helena is….," Irene started and then decided it wasn't her place to share the contents.

"…is being Helena?" Leena smiled, giving her future mother-in-law an easy out.

"Yes," Irene smiled and then excused herself when she heard Helena downstairs.

"Bloody hell, I can never find anything in this house," the Brit complained as she searched for the perfect shoes for her outfit. In spite of the fact that she told her guests it was casual, Helena wore a sleeveless silver semi-sheer sequined-embellished crepe top, gray low rise pants and now donned her feet with the varnished-effect shoes. This was casual for Helena. "What?" she asked when she saw the expression on Irene's face.

"You said casual," the HR Director reminded her hostess. Irene had dressed in pants and a silk blouse, something that contradicted the spoken rule - that Helena had trouble when she wasn't in her signature two piece suits.

"I meant, " Helena said, "What is that?" she asked, waving her hand at her guest.

"These are my casual clothes," Irene said, having given great thought to the fact that it would throw the Brit.

Helena stared at Irene as if she were dressed in an outfit so foreign to her; she was trying to figure it out. Irene watched as the logical part of Helena's brain tried to explain to her emotional lobe that she really had no say in what Irene wore and that truly, it made no difference. Guess which part won out?

"I don't like it," she said and it wasn't critical as much as it was informative.

"Yes, I know. I chose my comfort over yours. I hope you can forgive me," Irene said, smiling and only Helena would miss the dryness of the remark.

"Yes," Helena uttered, agreeing that it was something that needed to be forgiven and yes, she would forgive her. That didn't mean she wouldn't comment on it.

Then the hostess looked at her watch and noted that it was seconds before eight o'clock. "I abhor lateness," - a rule that applied to everyone else but herself.

With seconds to spare though, the doorbell rang and Irene's smile of satisfaction burst through her eyes. "You have a long night ahead of you, Irene. I would save some of that mirth for when you need it later." With that, Helena opened the door and welcomed her guest, thanking her for having the good sense to arrive on time.

"I'm a stickler for always being on time," Gloria admitted; something her own kids complained about as she was always rushing them when they had to be somewhere.

"Duly noted," Helena said and looked at Irene as if she weren't a card carrying member of that club.

"I should have worn the suit," she said, thinking her penance would be stretched out over the entire evening.

Helena thanked the nurse for the box of desserts and brought them into the kitchen. This gave Gloria a chance to show Irene the things she had brought with her in her oversized pocketbook. "I'll leave it to you to share this," she said respectfully. Irene smiled, but Gloria noticed it was an uncomfortable grin, and wondered if she had changed her mind. "I hope I'm not too casual," the nurse said grateful to be in comfortable shoes.

"Oh, no, you're fine. Helena has a very different understanding of casual," Irene explained and brought Gloria into the library where Leena had placed a tray of hors d'oeuvres. "White wine or something stronger?" Irene asked and Gloria said the wine would be just fine.

Helena went upstairs to see if Myka was ready. She was having some trouble feeling comfortable in clothes now that her shape was changing. "You might as well wear your sweatpants and t-shirt, love, when you see what Irene is wearing," Helena said, rolling her eyes.

This was a rule Myka was very familiar with and could only imagine what had her wife so upset. "Really, bad, eh?" she said and didn't meant it at all.

"It's…okay," Helena said, because she couldn't, in truth, criticize the outfit. "If you want to dress like that."

"Helena!" Myka gently chastised her wife, but rewarded her pouting lip with a kiss anyway. "Be brave."

"I'm not wearing the ridiculous outfit; there is nothing for me to be brave about," Helena replied.

Myka slid into comfortable pants and put on a rose colored jersey maternity top that she liked. "I see you're wearing your flats," Myka laughed at the two-inch heels her wife had on.

"Shall we?" Helena said, ignoring the tease, but smiling all the same. Myka took Helena's arm and they walked downstairs together. They went into the library to greet their guests and Myka thanked them for coming.

Polite conversation turned to the museum and the upcoming nuptials that would take place before it.

"You will come," Helena said, sitting with her legs crossed, her arm entwined in Myka's next to her.

"Well," Gloria said, looking at Irene, "I don't see why I would be….," and she was going to point out that she didn't know the engaged couple well enough to expect to be invited.

"Have you met the bride's mother? My dear Gloria; a nurse's presence should be required at that event," Helena explained.

"I believe your invitation is forthcoming," Irene explained as she had spoken to Claudia. Lack of immediate family meant the IT Director was at liberty to invite all of her friends from Wells Corp.

"Well, I would be honored to accept," the nurse said and in Helena's mind, there was no other option to consider.

When the foursome got up to go into the dining room, Gloria left her bag on the couch on purpose. Helena hadn't inquired if she brought anything, so she decided to wait. She kept the conversation going at dinner by asking Helena and Myka how they met. It was perhaps the first time she had seen Helena openly admit how badly she had done something and laugh at the same time.

"…..then she had the Mayor ask me to dance, just so she could dance with my date, so he would smell of her perfume," Myka retold and smiled at how clever she had thought Helena was. "I told him I was cold, just so I could wear his jacket!" she laughed.

"It doesn't sound like the smooth beginning I was expecting," Gloria laughed.

"You could have cut the tension with a knife," Myka admitted. "But…," she said, reaching over and taking her wife's hand, "….I finally came to my senses."

"And I learned an important lesson in patience," Helena said of her impulsive nature, taking Myka's hand to her lips and kissing it.

"I guess we all grow some when we find our soulmates," Gloria smiled sincerely.

Helena had asked Leena to join them for dinner so that she could tell Gloria about the museum. "We're going to have a whole section dedicated to Amelia Brown," Leena explained. "It's a wonderful testament to the woman…," she said.

"And to you, Helena," Gloria added quickly. "I can't tell you how grateful my family is for this opportunity to have Amelia get some of the recognition she deserved. To think, after all this time, people will finally know who she is," the nurse said and she choked on the emotion of the event and had to take a sip of water. "Whole thing makes me emotional," she laughed, wiping her eye with the napkin. "When you think how different things could have been if she only had the opportunity to fulfill her destiny."

Myka watched Helena's dark eyes drink in the sentiment and reflect back a myriad of feelings. Helena was pleased she could do this for Amelia and her family, but in giving the doctor her due, it reminded Helena how her own identity was suppressed all these years. That contradiction stormed in Helena's eyes. But as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared and Myka watched as Helena rose from her seat, thanked Leena for the lovely meal and suggested they retire to the living room.

Irene, too, watched Helena's every move, every expression, waiting for her to commence her revelation. She was ready to do whatever was required of her - even if she had no idea what that might be.

And while they were watching Helena, Gloria quietly observed Irene and Myka and how their combined attentions were drawn to the Brit. She simply had never seen anything like it.

And then it started –

"Gloria made the tea," Leena said, looking directly at her boss with a warning tone in her voice. "Don't hold it against her," she whispered as she gave Helena the cup. Gloria had insisted on helping Leena with the desserts and made the tea herself. Leena warned the woman that Helena was obsessive about the brew and to brace herself for some well-meaning criticism.

"I'll try," Helena said, sipping the delicious elixir that was like heaven in a cup. Leena watched Helena's expression and wondered about the drink because Helena was incapable of faking positive affection for anyone's tea but Eileen's. And Myka's - it was so close.

"Are you close to your family?" Helena inquired as she sipped on her tea and refused to put the cup down.

"These are delicious!" Myka blurted out because she had been denying how nervous she was about this decision.

The sidetracking worked for a moment as Gloria shared about the neighborhood bakery she purchased them from. And then finally answered Helena.

"I am," she said truthfully. "Most of my family is still in Virginia, but I get down to see them quite a bit," the nurse said. She thought it nothing more than a friendly inquiry.

When she finally drained the cup of its contents, Helena put it down. "Gloria, what I am about to share with you will, in fact, be a blessing and a curse," she began and Irene sat up straight like a guard just called to duty.

"Oh! Gee," Gloria said and she, too, putting her tea down, as if bracing herself for impact. Having already witnessed how impulsive Helena was, she considered for a second that she was being fired.

"While you will no doubt be impressed that I share this with you," Helena spoke truthfully, "…it will nonetheless, bring a burden to you."

Gloria wasn't as versed in Helena-ese as Irene and Myka and she quickly looked at them to see if they could translate, but neither was offering any help. "Your great-great grandmother wasn't just the midwife who delivered a baby in France all those years ago," Helena began. "She was the only relief for the mother who was surrounded by people worried what the unwed birth would do to their reputation and good name. Not that they didn't care about the mother, but you see, they were products of the times they lived in," Helena said, thoughtfully because she had forgiven them many years ago.

"Sounds like these two women shared a great deal, doesn't it?" Gloria postulated. "Both of them of casualties of the times they lived in."

It was a thoughtful statement that each of the women in the room could appreciate.

"You have no idea," Helena said and both Myka and Irene's attentions were drawn to the deepening of Helena's tone.

"The woman who Amelia helped that summer, returned to London and became part of clandestine group that worked on special government projects," Helena started.

"Like a secret agent?" Gloria asked with great interest. Everything she ever read about Amelia's friend told her the woman was highly intelligent and very creative.

"Somewhat," Helena said. "The place she worked for allowed her to continue her experiments, many of which were the basis for her stories, and also help in protecting people. Something she thought she was very good at." And there it was – the wrenching regret that lived deep inside Helena that she couldn't protect Christina.

"Sounds like she was jack of all trades and master of them, too," Gloria said, excited to be hearing more. She noticed the somber mood in the room and realized more was going on that she was hearing and seeing.

"Helena had no way of knowing that Amelia was trying to contact her. Her mother feared that the doctor could exploit the fact that the child was born out of wedlock. As I shared before, it was a regret she amended on her deathbed," Helena said. "But by that time, tragedy struck the family again when young Christina was murdered."

Myka reached out to hold Helena's hand, tears gently cascaded down her cheek now, the hormones making it impossible to hold back. Helena held Myka's hand and gently wiped the tear from her cheek.

"It's so sad," Gloria said softly.

"Her mother, having built a machine that could transport her consciousness in time, attempted over and over again to undo the events of that day, but alas, she could not," Helena said, the weight of that made her shoulders cave.

"She…really believed she …could do that?" Gloria asked.

"Yes," Helena said and Gloria decided that Helena must have journals that documented what her ancestor attempted to do. She wondered, to herself, what the diagnosis would have been for a woman who had suffered so much and became delusional.

"The mother was wrought with sadness and anger and made impulsive decisions that cost people their lives," Helena shared, the grimace appearing on her face.

"Oh my, Lord, who could blame the poor thing?" Gloria said, having witnessed first-hand what happens to parents when they lose a child.

It was the first time Helena picked up her head and looking right at Gloria, smiled.

"What happened to her?" the nurse asked with compassion about the woman she felt had come alive in Amelia's journals.

"She was imprisoned, but it was by her request," Helena pointed out.

"She gave herself up to the authorities?" the nurse inquired, aghast at how awful this whole story turned out. Of course, none of this was anywhere in Amelia's writings.

"In a matter of speaking, yes. She gave herself over to the people she worked for and they placed her in an encasement that provided her with what she felt was a just punishment," Helena said, her voice still deep and sad.

"Did…did she die there?" Gloria asked because the books were vague on whatever happened to the sister part of HG Wells. Her name appeared on the grave marker alongside Christina.

"In many ways, it appeared so," Helena said and Irene choked back tears at how painful this was for her friend.

"This is so sad," Gloria said, sitting back and taking in the heavy emotions in the room. She thought that was the end of the story.

"I have not been thorough in my telling of this story, Gloria," Helena said, collecting her thoughts and sitting erect. Myka still had not let go of her hand.

Gloria's mind raced with thoughts - as if Helena's story held missing pieces of a puzzle she had been curious about. "Don't you like to think….," she said, looking at each of the women, "…that these two old friends are sitting in heaven somewhere having tea?" Those images, so clear in her mind's eye, made her put her head down and emit a soft chuckle.

"Amelia will have to wait for that to happen," Helena said, and Irene was certain the nurse didn't understand.

"Oh, I think you're judging Helena Wells harshly, aren't you? Who is to say that any of us, when faced with that tragedy, wouldn't take extreme measures?" Gloria asked and kept feeling like she and the group were on two different pages of the same story. "It sounds like…," she said, looking at someone to back her up, "…that Helena paid her debt to society."

Helena let out a deep sigh. There was no easy way to share this story. She was going to tell her and then Irene could accompany her to the hospital. In that outfit.

"I am Christina's mother, Gloria," she said as plain as day. "I am the Helena Wells that your great-great grandmother knew. I knew her," Helena said in succession.

"People say…. I look just like…Amelia. You know, except…that she was tall…and thin," Gloria laughed, because what Helena was saying simply didn't compute.

"The encasement that I was placed in, kept me suspended in time until I was released years ago. I am Helena Wells, born in 1866 in England, creative genius behind the HG Wells anthology, besides a host of other incredible things," Helena said without a modicum of modesty.

Gloria's head swiveled from looking at Irene to staring at Myka for either of them to tell her what was going on. Clearly, her hostess was experiencing something and they were enabling her. "Listen, are you certain… I should be here?" she asked Irene, because she knew the woman was level headed. Irene slid her hand across the space between them on the couch opposite Helena and Myka and took the nurse's hand.

"I know this sounds unbelievable, but…," Irene said slowly.

The nurse pulled her hand away and looked back at Helena. "You are asking me to believe that you are Helena Wells, the one and the same whom Amelia knew? You…..all…believe this? " she asked. She had heard about mass delusions – groups of people believing some untruth as a whole. Usually under the influence of a charismatic leader.

And then Helena put it as plainly as she could. "I have no reason to lie to you."

Gloria fell back on the couch softly, trying to take in what was happening. "How is it possible that you ….you didn't age?" was the first question the woman who understood the human body asked.

"The process is called bronzing, and it suspends a person - conscious, yet immobile. The effect on the body is like a shield against time. One does not age," Helena explained.

"Wait, you're conscious? You were awake all those years?" Gloria asked, looking for the hole in this impossible story that was being spun in front of her.

"Yes," Helena said, and Myka pulled Helena's arm into her.

"She's telling you the truth," Myka said with great emotion in her voice. No one was more convincing than Myka, and Gloria sat there, her head shaking no as she tried to fine one plausible reason to believe this. She was a woman of science who knew this was not possible. She needed proof.

"Tell me about the pictures," she finally said and her voice was definite.

"What pictures?" Helena asked and even though she understood the woman's hesitancy, she didn't care to be challenged.

"The one I showed you of Amelia and Helena. There were more, I've never told anyone. No one knows about them. If you were there, you will know," Gloria said. The pictures were in a leather pouch with a faded blue ribbon around it with a note written in Amelia's handwriting, asking whoever possessed them, never to reveal them.

Helena thought about the picture she had seen.

It was taken before she returned to London, after Christina was born. Charles had accompanied her and Amelia on a walk one day with his new camera. He was all thumbs in trying to operate the piece of technology. When they were done, he accidentally opened the back, exposing the film and causing Helena to lose her temper. She lashed out at him and grabbed the camera back, convinced the film had been lost to the sunlight.

"Take this, with you," she said, pushing the camera into Amelia's doctor's bag. "Have someone develop the film. Maybe one or two will be saved." Having a solid understanding of the physics of lighting, Helena was almost certain the exposed film would produce nothing. But when Amelia sent the entire camera back to Eastman Kodak in the States, she received several clear pictures back.

The doctor thought it was a generous offering from a woman she felt strangely affectionate towards. Helena felt like she was giving someone who had come to know her – proof that she did indeed exist. Lost under Charles' bravado and now her parent's shame, Helena needed someone to hold a better image of her.

Helena looked up at the nurse and began –

"It was two weeks after Christina was born. They thought I was weak from the delivery, but Amelia knew it was more than that. She told my mother I was suffering from post-partum melancholy, and knew that if I had been sent back to London, the pedagogy would dictate that I be given drugs or worse. She refused to leave my side, knowing that my family, though well meaning, were adding to it. So, each day, she would insist that we walk. Sometimes, we took Christina," Helena said and her face lit up as only it did when she spoke of her child. She was lost in that reverie for a moment.

"This one day," she came back to the question, "Charles insisted on coming with us. He had brought a new camera and wanted to take pictures. He snapped away at everything he could find. Amelia and I even allowed him to take our picture, so he could get used to the device. Charles was never any good with machines," Helena laughed.

Gloria listened politely, but this told her nothing about the photos and Helena now realized that. She was getting lost in memories and not answering the question. She coughed, as if embarrassed, and refocused.

"Of course, the pictures would be in black and white, but the sky that day was cerulean blue, as if the world was upside down, and you were looking at the ocean. There were a few white clouds, but off in the distance were darker ones. Charles warned us it was going to rain. Christina was asleep in her carriage as we walked along. We stopped by a bench and she and I sat down and rocked the carriage when Christina fussed. Amelia sang her a song – a lullaby from her village she said," Helena reminisced.

And then she began to sing it. "Be still, be still my child. Be still, be still, be still my child."

Helena blushed that she was so lost in her memories, that she actually sang the song.

It was a song that Amelia sang to her children, who sang it to theirs, who passed it on to their children. It was the song Gloria grew up hearing and sang to her boys. A song that she had never heard anyone other than her family sing.

Myka's eyes filled up as she heard Helena sing the lullaby. Then, she started to notice an agitation building inside her. Maybe what Gloria was asking for was too much to ask. Yes, she wanted proof, but at what cost to Helena?

"Charles took a picture of Amelia holding Christina and singing to her," Helena said, smiling as she thought back to that day. "He opened the camera, exposing the film, and I was certain the pictures were lost. I gave the camera to Amelia, for safekeeping, with the intention of seeing her again. But, I never did."

Irene and Myka looked at Gloria, who now sat with a shocked look on her face. There was simply no way for Helena to know that …..unless she was there.

"Oh, my Lord," the nurse said softly, her shoulders falling under the weight of what she had just heard. "That means…..you….were ….there?" Gloria asked and Myka took a deep breath that the nurse was coming around.

"I was," Helena said sincerely. "I truly was."

"That would mean….you're…..," Gloria said, unable to finish her sentence.

But it was just as well, because it gave Helena the deepest satisfaction to say -

"I ...am HG Wells."

A/N thank you to all of you still on the journey with me. Sometimes I don't know unless you post or send me your thoughts, questions in a message.

Thank you to AsdardianBlade for helping me keep the characters - in character. Thank you to Aidly James, M4BW, Krys, Harley Quinn Davidson, Lisa, 69reggaegirl, CDB55, MONEBUDDHA, - and everyone who reads this and signs up for updates. I should be paying you all overtime.