AN: Sorry about the delay I have no excuse, or at least no good excuse.

"Delivery for you." The Big Guy walked into Helen's office where the Sanctuary head was discussing a mission with Ashley. In each hand he carried a bouquet of roses. Helen smiled when she saw them, she knew who they were from without even having to ask. The Big Guy handed one to Ashley and one to Helen, "The deliveryman didn't say who they were from but it was the place we usually order flowers from."

"They're from John." Helen said with a smile as she inspected the assortment of colours. The main colour of the dozen roses was dark pink but there were six roses mixed in that were a variety of colours.

"How do you know?" Ashley asked, "There's no card." Her roses were also predominantly pink though in two different shades, but there were other colours as well, including a single white rose still in bud.

Helen smiled again, looking over the arrangement her daughter held, "He sent me flowers often at Oxford, each flower has a different meaning so they can be used by lovers to send secret messages, in those days it was one of the few acceptable ways to send such messages of love. With roses the message is in the colours."

"So what do these mean?" Ashley asked, looking from her flowers to her mother and back again.

"The dark pink is for gratitude and the light pink is for gladness. The yellow is the promise of a new beginning. Peach means sincerity." Helen smiled, "I'm sure you know that red is for love but with the white bud next to it, which is a symbol for girlhood, it means a paternal love rather than anything else. He's telling you that he's grateful for everything and he truly wishes to make a new start as your father."

Ashley could feel the tears in her eye but she refused to let them fall, to distract herself she turned her attention to her mother's flowers, which she noticed were far more colourful than hers "So what do yours mean." She noticed her mother blushed slightly at that and pressed her, "Come on mom, tell me."

Helen relented, she knew what her daughter would be like if she didn't, she'd never hear the end of it "Fine, the dark pink and yellow mean the same as in yours, gratitude and a new beginning. The dark red means he loves me and that was also the colour of a first rose he ever gave me. Purple is the colour of royalty and also means enchantment, while orange means fascination."

"What about these two?" Ashley asked pointing to two her mother did not mention.

Helen knew there would be no getting out of it, "The yellow with red tips means friendship turning to love, they were going to be at our wedding. And unless I am mistaken this is coral." She added pointing to the last rose. "Which symbolises desire."

Ashley grinned, "So basically yours means 'thank you, I love you and I want you back'?"

"Something like that." Helen agreed, deliberately not looking at Ashley

"So what you going to do about it?" Ashley asked, grateful that her own roses carried a simple and easy message compared to her mother's

"The only thing I can do." Helen said, "I'm going to give him, give us, a chance. He's already asked permission to court me."

"Court you?" Ashley was surprised at the choice of words and then realised she shouldn't be. Despite all the decades they had lived though her parents were still very much Victorians at heart.

True to his word John returned to the Sanctuary just under a week after he'd left. Knowing that the EM shield would undoubtedly be up, it did serve to protect the computers from hacking after all, he arrived just outside the main gate and used the numeric code Helen had provided to let himself in. He crossed the drive and climbed the steps to the front door but it was opened before he could knock.

Helen greeted him with a smile, "I'm glad you're back."

"As am I." He told her as he stepped inside and removed his coat.

Helen took it from him and hung it on the coat rack. "What's in the bag?" She asked

"A few personal items, you did after all say that I could have a place here."

"That I did." Helen agreed, "And you do."

"Where is everyone?" John asked as he followed Helen through the Sanctuary.

"They organised some sort of games night, I didn't ask much past that but I may join them later, I find my presence helps to keep the peace when people start loosing."

"I can imagine." John said with a smile, Helen as always been the peace keeper amongst the Five as well as the leader but none of the men had wanted to admit that.

"Would you care for some tea?" Helen asked as they reached her office, John accepted and they both settled at opposite ends of her sofa with the tea tray on the table beside them. "Where did you go John?" Helen asked after taking the first sip of her tea, "Declan said that you visited James's grave and then some other places in London." The name 'White Chapel' hung unsaid in the air. "Henry also said that you asked for the location of Nigel's grave."

"It seemed wrong that I had never been and I wanted to visit James's resting places as myself, without that thing inside me. I went to White Chapel because that was were everything started. It is all so different now but I can still see it as it once was, when that demon drove me to such hideous acts that I would prefer to forget them completely." She shook his head remembering what he had seen there, people went on tours of the places he had killed, it was sick that they could turn such heinous crimes into a recreational activity.

He had his arm along the back of the sofa and Helen reached out to lay a comforting hand on his. He turned his hand over and captured hers, giving it a soft squeeze before he continued. "I went to Oxford as well, the library where we first met, the gardens where we'd walk after our lectures." He grinned, "The pond we threw Tesla in."

"Those were the very best of days." Helen said with a fond grin. Their time at Oxford had been wonderful, full of discoveries and excitement, the darkness had only come once they had graduated. She could truly call her time at Oxford, the first time, one of the best times of her life. Certainly the best time of the first century of it.

"Yes they were, I believe that I spent an entire day just walking the grounds of Oxford, remembering what we once had. Though I don't miss the academic dress, those robes were not comfortable."

Helen giggled at that none of the men in the Five had liked the academic dress, though privatively she had thought they all looked remarkably good in it, especially John. It wasn't until she had attended Oxford as a full student several years later that she had understood just what all the complaining was about.

"After I visited there." John continued as he finished his tea, "I went to a few other places around the world, places I had lived, places I had done things I do not wish to speak of. Then I returned here."

"I was happy to see you on the security monitors, I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow at the earliest. And thank you for the roses." She glanced over at her desk where the bouquet he had sent to her was arranged in a crystal vase, still healthy looking and in full bloom. "Ashley liked hers as well, she has them in her room.

Mention of his daughter reminded John of something. "Where is Ashley?" He asked, "I have something for her, I meant to give it back a while ago but it slipped my mind." With the demon growing steadily stronger quite a few things had done the same.

"Probably in the media room with the others." Helen said as she stood and gestured for John to follow her, she knew that he would want to see Ashley immediately. It didn't take them long to reach the media room but they heard it long before then.

"Good God! What is that racket?" John asked, resisting the temptation to drop the bag he carried and cover his ears.

"Sounds like 'Wuthering Heights'" Helen said after a moment. "Been done very badly by, I think, Will."

"Or some one skinning a still living cat." John suggested as they continued towards the noise, which became louder the closer they got.

Helen laughed, "Possibly, but to be fair to Will it is a bad song to begin with."

They reached the TV room just as the song was, thankfully, ending. It was indeed Will who stood in front of the TV holding the microphone while Henry, Ashley and Kate laughed. "William if you ever do that again I will see that you get an express trip to some place very remote so no one else must suffer."

Everyone looked over at the door, Will rather sheepishly, Ashley launched herself off the sofa and hugged him, "When did you get back?"

"About fifteen minutes ago, I had tea with your mother and then we came to find you, only to hear what sounded like someone torturing a cat. I have something for you." He added as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a silver rectangular pendent on a matching chain. Ashley's eyes widened and her hand immediately went to her neck where she had once worn it, in fact before the Cabal had taken her John had rarely seen her without it.

"Where did you find it?" She asked.

"While I was taking care of the Cabal, there was a woman with short brown hair, I think she was a doctor. She had it, she was wearing it!" That had infuriated John for more than anything else at the time and had insured her a painful demise, lucky for her he hadn't know exactly what she had done to Ashley or her death would have been as painful as Whitcomb's. "I ordered her to take it off, afterwards I forgot about it until just a few days ago. May I?"

He gestured to her and Ashley nodded, turning around and holding her hair out of the way so that he could fasten the chain back around her neck. "Back where it belongs."

Ashley turned back around and touch the pendent where it now rested against her pale skin, "Thanks."

"Henry." Helen said, drawing attention away from the father and daughter who both had suspiciously damp eyes, "I didn't think Singstar had Wuithering Heights."

Henry at least had the decency to look embarrassed, "It didn't, but Tosh and I were working on a program of hers to turn any song into a karaoke track, we finished by email earlier today."

"So one of the first songs you decided to convert was one of the worst songs of the seventies, and that is saying something."

"Blame Kate, she dared Will."

"I didn't think he'd actually do it." Kate insisted and Helen just shook her head, it seemed that no matter what age they were the younger members of her staff still behaved like children when given half the chance.

"Are you staying?" Will asked.

"Perhaps for a while." Helen agreed and out of the corner of her eye she saw John nodded. "But I am not singing and there will be no more Kate Bush." Everyone could agree to that and John and Helen sat together on one of the sofas while the rest made complete fools of themselves. Helen had to conclude that Ashley didn't have an ounce of subtlety in her body when she and Henry did a duet of 'Broken', a song that could have been written about her and John. Still it was a fun way to spend and evening as both Helen and John looked forward to many more like it.#

AN: So that's the end of that story, I won't be going much past this point until season three is finished and I know what will fit where and how into my little AU, however there are a few one shots and shorter stories, most of which are solely Sanctuary but one is a crossover, again with Torchwood, does anyone want to read these? Let me know and I'll se about posting them.