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: Takes place in present day September 2nd, 2021.
It was a quiet afternoon at the Underground Sanctuary. Helen had just finished her medical rounds and was currently sitting at her desk replying to emails when her daughter had unexpectedly walked in for a surprise unannounced visit.
For the past decade, Ashley had made a renewed life living on the surface under the name Ashley Druitt; living as a normal human with her husband for the last six of those years. As much as she loved her mother and the work that she did at the Sanctuary, she made the conscious decision to step away from the abnormal world. After being kidnapped and experimented on by the Cabal and subsequently 'dying' because of it, as well as then being forced to live exclusively at the Underground Sanctuary for the next two years after that until her mother completed her time-travel loop in 2011, it caused her to reevaluate her life and what she wanted out of it. Most obviously, she was tired of hiding in a hole in the ground and missed the surface dearly. She wanted a fresh start away from the madness of her mother's life that she inherited by simply being her mother's daughter.
Three weeks after Helen finished her time loop, as she readied for bed late that night after forcing Addison and the UN investigation team out of the Old City Sanctuary, Ashley teleported into her bedroom to tell her in person that she wanted a life change. Helen in response had understood and supported her daughter's decision without measure. For Helen, it was an honest relief as she was always torn about Ashley not completely spreading her wings. While she loved having her close, at the same time she understood the danger and isolating nature of the Sanctuary. While Ashley had always insisted that she wanted to work at the Sanctuary out of her own free will, Helen felt that decision was made out of ignorance as she knew that Ashley didn't know any different.
As a curtesy to her mother, Ashley kept to her agreement to help fulfill her mother's plan in consolidating the Sanctuary Network to the Underground Sanctuary over the course of the next year in-between her travels. After moving the Old City Sanctuary residents in January 2012, she officially left the Underground Sanctuary for good only a few hours after saving her mother from the self-destruct explosions. While Ashley still wanted to keep her mother in her life as much as possible, she did set the term that if they were to see each other again, that Helen would have to leave the Underground Sanctuary to visit her on the surface at one of Helen's houses. A favorite of theirs was Helen's villa on Capri. The only 'Sanctuary' exception Ashley ever made was the London Sanctuary as is was also dually a family manor that Helen had grown up in, though they didn't meet there as much.
Considering that Ashley hadn't stepped foot in the Underground Sanctuary for the last ~9.75 years, it caused quite a stir and tons of head-turning when people saw the 37-year-old blonde quickly and quietly strolling through the facility with a few bags in tow; stopping at her old room that her mother still kept for her before making her way to Helen's study.
As Ashley entered and made her way into the center of the room, her mother happily stood and rounded her desk to warmly greet her in a long hug. As Helen stepped back and simply inquired the reason behind her surprise visit, Ashley's façade of a smile quickly faded away.
Helen noticed this. "Ashley, what's wrong?"
Ashley felt like she was starting to unravel. "Can we sit?"
"Of course." Helen gestured to the sofa a few feet away. After settling, Helen could definitely tell that something was troubling her daughter as Ashley continued to look uneasy. "Are you all right?" Helen was starting to feel concerned.
Ashley couldn't quite meet her mother's eyes. "It depends. I'm both 'fine' and 'not fine' at the same time".
At the ambiguity of the statement, Helen remained silent, waiting for more details to emerge.
At not hearing anything from her mother, Ashley looked up and straight into her face. "I'm pregnant" she announced, a tear rolling down her cheek.
At first, Helen didn't know how to react. She wasn't made speechless out of shock, but out of conflicted confusion. While she was happy at the thought of becoming a grandmother, this revelation seemed to not have been as joyous for the new mother-to-be. Out of instinct, she reached over and took Ashley's hand in one of her own and wiped the tear away with her other. "I'm here for you," she said supportively.
Ashley sported a small smile. "Thanks, mom" she sniffed.
Helen gently brushed some of Ashley's hair behind her ear. "You mind telling me why this has you so upset? I assume you want to keep the child."
"I do," Ashley nodded immediately, flashing her mom a bright smile.
"What's the problem then?" Helen wondered.
That's when more tears came. "David doesn't," Ashley's voice cracked.
Helen sat up straight. "What?" This was news to her.
Ashley took a deep breath and then explained. "When David and I first started dating, the topic of 'kids' came up and he told me that he didn't want to have any. At the time, I didn't find this to be an issue as I wasn't planning on having kids either considering all the stuff the Cabal had done to me; I didn't think it'd be wise to. So, when David and I got married, it was under the shared agreement that we wouldn't have kids."
Helen could see where this was leading and gave Ashley an understanding look. "And now?"
"Well, that agreement held until my birthday a little over two months ago when the condom failed. We definitely didn't forget to use it as he's practically religious about wearing one." Ashley could see her mother thinking.
"If David was that sure that he didn't want to have any children, why wouldn't he undergo a vasectomy procedure to completely mitigate the risk?" asked Helen.
Both Helen and Ashley already knew any sterilization procedures on Ashley wouldn't last as her body would simply heal and fully regenerate over time. That also included her body breaking down foreign objects such as an IUD and quickly metabolizing any hormone regulator drugs making them completely pointless to take.
"He didn't want to and felt that a 2% condom failure rate was negligible," Ashley shrugged.
Helen couldn't help going into doctor mode for a moment. "Are you sure it happened just over two months ago?"
"I'm sure." Ashley said without a doubt. "He had been away on a business trip ever since then working on an overseas project in Norway."
With this news Helen calculated that the fetus was 10-weeks-old (the end of the 12th week of pregnancy on a 40 week scale).
"It wasn't until two weeks ago that I finally noticed the date, realized I was due for my next period and that I hadn't had one the previous month, and put two-and-two together about why I had been feeling different as of late. So I went out and took four different pregnancy tests of various brands and they all turned positive. I sat on this news until David came home three days ago to tell him in person," said Ashley.
"I'm guessing this didn't go over well with him?" Helen judged by Ashley's current state.
"It didn't." Ashley swallowed. "We ended up getting into a huge argument over it. Apparently, he'd always assumed I'd immediately get an abortion if an accidental pregnancy ever did occur." Ashley looked glassy-eyed at her mother and shook her head adamantly. "I never agreed to that."
Helen could see this was where the issue centered. "Where does this leave you and David?"
Ashley sighed and started to fidget with the wedding ring on her finger. "Broken," she shuddered before starting to weep and wipe away the tears streaming down her face. "He's seeking divorce on the grounds that I'm not keeping up with my end of the agreement."
Helen immediately leaned forward and embraced her daughter. "Oh Ashley, I'm so sorry," she sincerely consoled.
"He doesn't want the lifestyle and responsibilities of being a parent and never has. I can't fault him for not wanting to change, as he was honest with me about it since practically Day One." Ashley took a breath. "I just... ...it hurts having our marriage end this way," she sobbed.
"I know it does, sweetheart." Helen said softly as she held tight, rubbing Ashley's back and placing a kiss to the top of her head. Helen knew that type of deep pain as she was only just a year older than what Ashley is now when she had been in a similar situation back in November 1888 when she was first pregnant with Ashley and her engagement to John had unexpectedly shattered to pieces resulting from the Ripper Case.
After a few moments of sitting in silent comfort, Helen spoke first, hoping to shift to the happier part of the topic. "Have you seen any doctors yet?" She knew Ashley probably hadn't considering her abnormal physiology, but wasn't completely sure.
Ashley gave her a sheepish look. "No. That's another reason why I came back to you," she blushed a bit coyly.
Helen stood and gave her a knowing smile, holding out both her hands for her daughter to take. "Come on," she said softly with a small nod towards the door.
Ashley took her mother's hands and stood.
Helen then gently pulled Ashley next to her and put her arm around her as they walked towards the room's exit. "If my math is correct, you're due for a checkup" she smiled, playfully squeezing Ashley by the shoulder.
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