Disclaimer: I do not own Sanctuary nor its characters that are featured within this work. Sanctuary belongs to it's rightful owners and creators which include: Damian Kindler, Martin Wood, and Amanda Tapping.

Author's note: This is an idea that I've had for several years now that I finally decided to actually type. I had a thought to try to bundle it with another story, though it doesn't really fit with any of them, so I left it as a short piece.

Takes place modern day late 2023. The year is pretty irrelevant though, as it can honestly take place any time post-series, adjusting the character's ages to match.

Spelunking

A 39-year old Ashley trudged behind her 286-year-old mother through a cavern system. She swore they had been looking for this elusive abnormal rock lizard for more than an hour, though Helen's watch said otherwise. Earlier, they had glimpsed one of the creatures sunbathing just outside the entrance of the cave. As they approached, it had quickly ran away inside to hide. Neither of the pair were prepared to explore a cavernous lair, but decided to make a go of it.

As Ashley groaned again in impatient frustration, she kicked a small rock ahead of her. "How far do you think this goes?"

Helen wasn't sure. "Absolutely no idea. And unfortunately we are ill-prepared to continue forward. We'll have to return another day with proper gear."

With that the mother daughter duo turned around to head back towards the entrance, to both their relief.

Ashley huffed."I can't believe we followed that little thing all the way into here and still can't find it."

"It's possible we could have passed by it, as it potentially hid behind an outcropped boulder. Keep an eye out for it as we backtrack," commented Helen.

"Alright," Ashley agreed.

About two thirds of the way back towards the entrance, Helen's attention was drawn to the glinting of the light from her flashlight reflecting off the walls of the tunnel. "Hmm, interesting. I hadn't noticed this when we first entered."

Ashley mimicked her mother standing next to the rock wall, touching the tiny glimmering points. Upon closer inspection, she noted a purple hue in the crystals. "Amethyst?"

Helen picked up a loose piece off the ground, turning it over in her hand and shook her head. "This mineral lacks the hexagonal shape of quartz, so it must be something else." She then fanned her light in an arcing motion to inspect more of the surrounding rock. "It looks like there is an exposed vein running through the mountainside."

Helen then handed the piece to Ashley. "We'll take this sample back with us for testing," and resumed walking towards the exit.

Ashley fawned over the little pretty rock, delaying her movement. She thought it would make a really nice pendant necklace to wear. She quickly looked around for another loose piece but couldn't find one. The rest were still firmly attached to the wall and she didn't have a hammer to knock more loose. Aware of their continuing separation, Ashley abandoned her search to catch up with her mother whose light was disappearing around a bend in the tunnel.

Rushing turned out to be a mistake. As the tunnel widened, it allowed space for Ashley to parallel Helen. With the weight of two people, plus the addition of Ashley's footfalls having extra downward force from the impact of her quick jog, the floor of the tunnel suddenly gave way. They felt more than heard the crack beneath their feet.

They didn't plummet far, only about six feet below, splashing into waist high water.

As they surfaced, helping each other to stand and stood drenched, Ashley cried out in a growl, "Oh, bloody hell!" as she violently flung the offending draining water off her arms and hands.

"Are you all right?" asked Helen, smoothing back her hair, wiping the wet bangs away from her forehead. Her flashflight thankfully still worked and she surveyed their new setting. Large violet crystals poked out sporadically from the rocks around them; the water evidently aiding their more uniform formation and increased growth.

"I'm fine. I'm just upset that my new leather jacket is soaked," griped Ashley.

"Feelings are mutual," Helen replied, thinking about the potentially ruined pair of boots she herself is wearing. "Looks like we fell into the center of a ten-foot-radius sinkhole, the interior resembles the formation of a massive geode."

"That's just great," Ashley sarcastically remarked. She wasn't looking forward to the uncomfortable subsequent walk back through the jungle to their vehicle followed by the drive back to the Underground Sanctuary.

"You first," Helen nodded, indicating for Ashley to climb up and out. Helen helped to boost her daughter up, followed by Ashley reciprocating, reaching down to help pull her mother up.

After making their way outside the cave, thankfully the sun began to dry them out as they headed in the direction towards their parked vehicle.

Fifteen minutes later when they reached the road within a block of their SUV, Ashley couldn't help but distractly stare at her mother like she was a different person. Due to the road, it caused a break in the trees which allowed more light from the sun to beam down directly on top of them. "Oh my god."

Helen stopped and turned to look at her daughter who was gazing at her in wonder. "What is it?"

"You're hair. It's blonde," said Ashley.

Helen was confused. "What?" Her hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, keeping it out of her face. She reached around to pull her hair forward. Noticing the color change, she removed the tie, letting it fall loose. "That's strange. Something in the water was able to remove all of the permanent brunette dye." She then looked towards Ashley. "And your blonde highlights."

Ashley reacted to that by grabbing a strand of her own hair. Noting the similar shade, she stood closer to her mother, comparing the two. Their natural color was practically identical. "Huh, we're the same."

Helen had known this striking similarity since Ashley was a newborn; having matched an old lock of hair she kept from when she chopped off the long mass of ringlets she wore in the late 1880s. "Not surprising. We share half of our DNA after all."

"Yeah, well seeing is believing. Even though you've told me that you were a natural blonde, it was still hard for me to conceptualize since it's always been dark," admitted Ashley.

"I've been blonde for very long periods throughout my life, I know you've had to have seen me like this before," said Helen.

Ashley shook her head. "Aside from seeing old photographs of you in sepia or black and white, I have never actually seen you in person with blonde hair during my entire life."

Helen thought back through her many memories and had a small realization. Ashley was right. Even though she spent half of her own life blonde - her early years - and the overwhelming majority of her time reliving 113 years through the past (in stark opposition to her first run through life), she began to dye her hair again around the repeat of the turn of the millenium; having dark hair by the time she saved Ashley from a fatal teleport. "That's never occured to me before."

The conversation died and the pair continued to walk in silence to their vehicle. As Helen drove them back to the Sanctuary, Ashley still couldn't help but stare at her mother from the passenger seat. About five minutes out, Ashley offhandedly brought up the topic again. "No offense to the dark hair color you like to wear, you look great in it, but I'm seriously having a self-revelation right now about how many similarities we share, things that I've copied from you that I've never noticed before because we always looked different until now."

Helen smiled. "While nurture certainly does play a significant role reflecting how you were raised by me, I can definitively say from decades of observation that you, my darling, are majorly ruled by your genetic nature. While we do share certain things such as obviously our hair color and a trait for stubborness, as you grew up you also showed a predisposition of innate behaviors you were never taught or exposed to. Many of which were frustratingly reminiscent of your father, like the way you tend to abruptly decided to exit a room and quickly disappear from my sight."

"I do that to you?" Ashley genuinely asked, surprised.

"More often than not," answered Helen. She slowed the car and turned onto the grounds surrounding the Sanctuary. Helen stopped at the gate, waiting for it to open, then proceeded to drive towards and down a nearby tunnel to a basement garage that was located around the depth of single building story underneath the surface.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't aware I did that. I hope I don't come off as being rude," apologized Ashley.

"It's all right. I know it's never intentional. As I said, it's in your nature. After years of trying to modify that habit out of you during your early childhood, I eventually gave up and learned to live with it. It's one of the many little things that make up who you are as an individual," Helen gently reflected to keep the mood light.

They reached the garage door, waited for it to open, then proceeded forward to the designated parking spot, where Helen parked and shut off the engine. Before the pair disembarked, Helen instructed Ashley to follow her lead to take off their shoes and socks to help prevent and minimize the tracking of contaminates further into the building. They then walked barefoot across the concrete over to the area of the garage containing the decontamination room. Right before they entered, they dipped their feet into a disinfectant. Once inside, they headed for their individual showers, striping off and discarding their soiled clothing into bins designated for their mission wear to receive a specialized cleaning treatment. Some places their work took them required sterilization procedures to be performed as a result. Traipsing around an unknown cave and falling into mysterious water definitely counted. The floors of caves inhabited by creatures, especially caves damp with water are notorious for harboring an array of bacterial and viral diseases.

Once thoroughly bathed and draped in scrubs, they subsequently headed over to the nearby elevator that would take them down to the facility below. When they arrived on the medical level, they entered the infirmary where as a precaution, Helen gave herself as well as Ashley a series of antibiotic and antiviral injections for known local common infections. After being inoculated, the pair decided to ascend to their rooms to redress.

"How long do you intend to keep your hair this way?" inquired Ashley as they reached the elevator, hitting the call button. Immediately, the doors opened to an awaiting carriage.

As they stepped forward, Helen answered her as she hit the button for the residential level. "I haven't decided yet. No matter what, it'll definitely take some time getting used to my 'new' appearance. About a minute before you restarted this conversation in the car, I had already given myself a fright while looking in the rearview mirror."

Ashley looked over at her. "That's what that motion was? I thought you just had a hiccup."

"It was," Helen started. The quick elevator ride ended and the women stepped out into the hallway, heading in the direction of their private rooms. "A self induced hiccup caused by a sudden reminder that I look different. As we drove, I became preoccupied with thoughts about tomorrow's meeting, temporarily 'forgetting' about the change in my hair color. I'm not too proud to admit that it scared me for a second wondering who the hell the stranger in the reflection was before I embarrassingly realised I was looking at myself."

Ashley didn't laugh, instead agreeing sincerely with her mother's statement. "I think we've all experienced that sharp panic before. It's not a pleasant jolt. Good luck every time you enter a bathroom, your boudoir, your walk-in closet, or go near any of these many glass windows around here for the next week."

"Thank you," Helen humbly accepted as she arrived at her rooms, turned the handle, and pushed through the door with her shoulder; closing it softly behind her.

For the next forty-five minutes or so, Helen spent an inordinate amount of time simply staring at her reflection in her ensuite bathroom mirror, thinking. She wasn't comfortable with the abrupt change in color against her current preference. For Helen, the color of her hair was quite personal and justified. Though she equally enjoyed both colors, each attached to certain memories both wonderful and not so wonderful, the core issue she had relating to her color choice was an external factor. She experienced vivid distinctions between how other people reacted and treated her. As a blonde, people didn't expect as much from her nor thought as highly of her opinions based on her vast expertise; a problem she had early on in her effort to gain entrance into the medical field. Much later, it helped allow her navigate time travel with some added ease. As a brunette, not only did it act somewhat as an emotional shield, but people overall regarded her authority with a lot more integrity and in general treated her nicer, especially woman. Helen had never been blonde while as the global head of the Sanctuary Network and wasn't sure how well the change would fare with the current political climate of the world. Not one to back down from a challenge, she decided to continue to keep her hair the way it was; letting it hang loose to dry naturally into a wavy pattern. After applying a light layer of makeup to accentuate her eyes to bring out the blue matched with a neutral lipstick, she then exited the bathroom to enter her walk-in closet where she opted for a comfy all medium-gray outfit comprised of a knit turtleneck, soft slack, and loafers. She matched it with a small pair of silver earring, a silver analogue watch, and a long simple silver necklace.

Once dressed, she took the elevator up to the office level and curiously made it all the way to her study without encountering anyone. Usually by now she would have come across at least two staff members or residents milling about. When she checked the time, it was a quarter past four PM. She could chalk part of it up to some people potentially taking an afternoon nap, but not all of them. Though it felt odd, she wasn't opposed to the stilled silence as it was a welcome respite to most days where she was off and on interrupted by non-emergencies.

Her first visitor that afternoon arrived thirty minutes later with the appearance of a certain half-vampire who arrived with a bottle of 1994 Merlot in hand along with a pair of empty German crystal wine glasses.

"Well hello there, Mrs. Robinson," he said with a hardly contained toothy grin as he walked forward to stop in front of her desk. Nikola carefully placed both wine glasses in a neat arrangement at the edge of her desk. A look of bemusement befell his face as he opened the wine bottle, took a glass, and started to pour. "What brings about this long lost look that's a blast from the past?" When the glass filled, he held it out to offer it to her.

Tesla's supportive enthusiasm caused Helen to smile as she graciously accepted the glass of wine from him, taking a sip. "Turns out sporadically spelunking in a nearby neighboring cave had some unintended consequences."

Tesla finished pouring his glass, recorked the bottle, setting it aside, then reclaimed his glass in hand as he took a seat opposite Helen. "Oh, do tell," Tesla asked, followed by a swallow of the red liquid.

With her free hand, Helen picked up the gemstone that sat on her desk. "Long story short, the ground gave way and Ashley and I accidentally fell into a pool of water filled with these." She then reached forward to hand him the stone. "I currently don't know if this type of mineral actually had anything to do with whatever was in the water that stripped all of the dye from our hair," Helen shrugged.

Nikola eyed the rock with interest as an idea for a business opportunity struck him. "Imagine the fortune that could be made in the cosmetics industry by selling that water."

Helen didn't want to be too hasty, advising caution. "As good as that sounds, there are caveats. The water hasn't been chemically studied and clinically tested to be safe for application as other potential side effects are still unknown, and there could be untold environmental damage resulting directly from the mass removal of the natural resource from the area."

Nikola lightly shrugged in response. He proceeded to have one last look at the rock then set it on the desk.

Helen then asked a question she thought Nikola might be able to answer. "Do you know where others in the facility may be and what they're up to? You're the first person to greet me since Ashley and I returned."

Nikola had a hint of characteristic mock snark in his answer. "Aside from your offspring berating me a few minutes ago in the hallway about pilfering your wine cellar, some of your miscreants scampered off to New Praxis not long after you departed to barter a few items."

That information aided Helen in recalling her having overheard a handful of staff discussing their plans for the trip around four days ago.

Fast forward to the end of the week, the staff reaction across the Network (not just from those in the underground facility) in response to the change of Helen's hair color was generally of positive surprise - the majority of those in other countries finding out together during a video call.

As Helen felt fully adjusted to the change, a semi-peeved Ashley complained to her mother that when she applied permanent highlights, the dye didn't adhere to the hair and completely washed out.

Helen wasn't too concerned, telling Ashley that whatever had initially striped the dye may still be active and or attached to the hair, blocking the dye, and recommended waiting about six months before re administering dye to the segments of new hair growth.

However, come six months later, same results occurred when Ashley applied dye to the three inches of new growth.

Having previously known about Ashley's issue half a year prior, Helen had intentionally waited until now before also trying to re-dye her hair. She at first only applied dye to a small test stripe instead of her entire head to prevent wasting an entire box unnecessarily. It was a good call as her usual brunette dye failed as well.

Over the course of the next year, both mother and daughter tried testing multiple different brands and colors to see if anything would work. Nothing did. This eventually led to Helen taking hair samples from both of them to physically and chemically examine what was going on. In her study, Helen found that the keratin structure of their hair was altered and now growing in a way that prevented dye from both temporary surface attachment and from permeating the hair and bonding permanently. Even if dye could get past the cuticle, it wouldn't stay in the cortex like it should.

This result led the women to conclude that (somewhat unfortunately) they'd forever remain with the appearance of their natural hair color for the rest of their lives. They were a bit dismayed at the thought of having to wear wigs if they wanted to have a different color, not just because of the hassle, but also because of the heat/lack of airflow and that their own hair had a really nice texture look (resulting from source blood) that a wig could never capture, even if made of real and not synthetic hair.

Author's note: Pardon somewhat of an abrupt ending. The original thought I had was about Helen falling 30-50 feet into a giant cavern with purple crystals splashing into a large pool of water that striped all the dye from her which caused her hair to revert permanently to blonde and immediately turned all of her clothing permanently white (at least the cotton in her jeans and shirt - leather in the jacket would have reverted to natural tone). I modified this idea to be less obvious and less grandiose, more realistic is scale and made it easier for the characters to climb out. Plus, I liked including Ashley to also be affected to have a shared hair color trait. Initially that was all I had until I started actually writing this story down about two weeks ago in late October 2023. I first thought to have a scene where Will walks up behind Helen and Ashley walking down the hallway, and mistakes Helen for a new arrival until Helen turned around and he got a surprise at it actually being her. The issue was that I couldn't help but to also envision that taking place in the Old City Sanctuary, so I switched it to Tesla showing up at Magnus's study at the Underground Sanctuary, getting a chuckle out of the sudden change when he came to visit her to share in an afternoon drink as he took a break from his work.

Reviews are welcomed