Ok, so since I watched the preview for Chimera I have been completely obsessed with the idea of Vienna in Springtime. For obvious reasons. I wrote this one shot as my idea of what could have happened in that time :)

It is set just after Eulogy. I have never been to Vienna but my father did recently make a business trip there and some of the places I mention he has shown me photographs of. I have tried to keep it as accurate as possible. Please don't shoot me if I've gotten something backwards. :) Please tell me what you think! :)

*Disclaimer* - oh, how i can wish...

Was his phone... ringing? It never did that.

"Hello?"

"Hey"

He paused, he would know that voice anywhere, anytime, in any dimension. It was the voice which had ingrained itself into his soul and broken his heart countless times.

"Helen?" he enquired incredulously.

"Yeah. It's me"

His eyes widened in fear. Why was she calling him? Had something happened? Was she in danger? Was she OK after... after...

"Helen, are you alright? Is there something wrong?" he fired quickly.

"No...no...I, I'm fine. I just..."

He heard her voice waver precariously. Then he remembered the date. Oh God. Today would have been her memorial. His jaw clenched at her heartbreak.

"Helen"

It was all he needed to say. They'd been friends for so long that he knew she'd know exactly what he meant to say. A few moments went by before he heard her timid voice.

"You didn't come"

He sighed heavily.

"I didn't think John would want me there. I didn't want to cause anymore hardship for you than you already had. I would have just made things even more tense. You...and Ashley, didn't deserve that." He whispered. She sniffed softly into the phone. Oh god, when had she started crying?

"John was not there"

His heart hurt painfully for her. He should have been there.

"Oh, Helen. I should have been there for you, I'm sorry"

The line went silent.

"I miss you" she breathed. He shut his eyes, forcing his voice to remain level and even.

"I'll always be here for you Helen"

He heard her bite back a sob and clutched his cellphone tighter.

"Will you... will you stay on the line with me for a while? I... I can't sleep"

He smiled softly.

"Of course" he answered without hesitation. He had a thought and smirked. "Where are you?"

She sniffed lightly.

"Uh, In my bedroom"

"In bed?"

"Yes"

He paused for a beat.

"What are you wearing?" he whispered.

It had the desired effect. He heard her scoff and then giggle softly. God, he'd go to hell and back just to hear her laugh.

"Nikola, really"

He chuckled and moved himself to sit more comfortably, he'd do anything for Helen Magnus, including talking her to sleep.

"God, Nikola, I'm sorry. I didn't realise how late it is. Did I wake you?" she had obviously just caught sight of the time.

"Helen, I'm a Vampire. I don't sleep" he reminded her, smiling. He heard her shuffle on the other side of the line, presumably getting comfortable. He heard her sigh into the phone.

"How did you get this number?" he enquired.

"Henry can get anyone's number"

Ah, he must remember to thank Wolf-boy sometime. Even though it had only been a matter of days since he'd left the Sanctuary, it was still damn good to hear her voice.

"Talk to me Nikola"

"About what?"

"Anything. Anything to distract me" he heard the silent plea in her voice. A plea for normalcy. "Please" he heard her add.

He thought back to what his mother used to do when he couldn't get to sleep as a child. She'd spend hours stroking his hair softly and banishing his nightmares by reminding him of happier times. Happier memories.

"Do you remember Vienna in the springtime?"

Helen sighed deeply.

"How could I forget that?"

He smiled into the phone.

"There is something you don't know about our time there."

He let the statement linger before her curiosity got the better of her.

"What? Nikola, what are you talking about?"

"We didn't just get randomly assigned the same university for the term. I bribed two of the three professors we had with every penny I owned. Begged the third because I had run out of money and threatened the administrator with a short, sharp shock."

He heard dead silence on the end of the line.

"That was the best three months of my life Helen" he admitted. "And I would do everything I did again to spend it with you."

She let out a small sigh into the phone.

"Remind me Niko. Remind me."

He smiled softly as he remembered.

"That little cafe next to the apartment? Do you remember? The best coffee I've ever had. I remember forcing you to try the stuff and you nearly spitting it out all over me. Very ladylike. I'd never heard such curses about a beverage before."

She giggled softly. This spurred him on.

"Remember when we stole those damned horses from the Schönbrunn Palace? Bloody Lipizzaner horses. My one nearly killed me while yours refused to move. They were exceedingly dirty too. I remember scrubbing for days just to stop smelling like horse. Remember, we had to run to avoid those stupid looking policemen? Ha. I'd never seen you run that fast, Helen."

He continued.

"Remember when you dragged me to where Mozart lived? Genius my ass. We stayed there for hours while you cooed over the feel of the place. I could never understand your fascination with the man."

"He was a genius Nikola" she admonished sleepily.

"Debatable. How about the Tiergarten? You were always fascinated by the diversity of life on earth Helen, even then. I think we spent two whole days going through every creature in that confounded place. Remember that monkey who nearly throttled me through the bars on its cage? My cravat was ruined. And all you could do was stand there and laugh so hard that you ended up crying. Come to think of it, we laughed a lot during that time. We were so young." He caught himself meandering off into his own feelings and stopped. Helen needed light and fluffy right now.

"Ah, the amount of churches we saw. Then the heated philosophical debates we ended up having. Well, OK, more like screaming matches right in the middle of the church. Remember that time we were asked to leave? I bet they still have our names somewhere and we are banned for eternity."

"You always did enjoy a good philosophical debate Niko" she mumbled.

"Yeah, but you always won. I liked arguing with the halfwits back at Oxford who I could actually get one over on. You were far too clever."

She giggled softly.

"Ah, but that is why we were friends" she insisted. He couldn't deny that.

"I did enjoy the art museums though" he mused. "Remember when you spent two hours staring at one Monet? Goodness I thought you'd officially lost it. It was that sunrise one. The one that caused such an uproar. Remember? You thought it was the most beautiful thing anyone had ever created. I remember you saying you wanted to meet him. Monet. Did you ever?"

"Once. He was close to his death. He was old and sad. He'd lost everyone in his life."

Nikola quickly diverted the conversation.

"You know. All the adventures we had were wonderful Helen. We always had fun when we got into trouble."

"When you got us into trouble" she whispered, sleep pulling at her.

"Yes. Well. You were always right there beside me" he teased. She sighed.

"Helen?" he whispered.

"Hmmmm" she murmured.

"I will always remember those times Helen, but do you know what my fondest memory is?"

"Mmmhmmm"

"Just of you and me, walking through the blossoming trees in the park. You, lying with your head in my lap as you read to me while we say amongst the roses. The way it was just you and me. The way you looked at me back then. The way I could make you laugh. The simplicity of things. Helen?..."

She didn't answer. He could hear steady breathing through the speaker, she was asleep.

"Helen... I disagree with you... about that Monet."

He took a deep breath.

"You are the most beautiful thing anyone ever created" he whispered quietly, smiling sadly and ending the call.

As usual. I have become consumed by this one shot and have many ideas for many more parts :) I am hoping to turn this into a series of parts which will focus on some of Helen and Nikola's fictional phone calls :) Because I think there could be some darn cute moments for them on the phone. If I get some interest that is exactly what I will do. Thanks again for reading.

Oh, btw, since I don't know when they spent that time in Vienna together, I just set it while they were at Oxford and had the opportunity to spend a term abroad.

xx