Disclaimer: If they were mine, I'd be sitting in the offices at SciFi writing kickass scripts for this show. Sadly, I am not, and remain a dirt poor college student who means no harm.

Notes: Thank you to mosaiclife, everyline, and miss_fancy for reading through this.

Harmony
Chapter One
by talkofcake

The air around them was thick and barely breathable, but the humidity itself was not nearly the only reason Helen Magnus' breaths were long and heavy. She watched as beads of sweat trickled down his skin, first wrapping around his neck and then making their descent over the expanse of his defined chest and torso. A flood of desire coursed through her body as he took a step towards her.

"Magnus." This has gone on long enough.

"Yes, it has," she gasped, desperately wanting to close the distance between them. But her inner-self - the wise and still rational thinking one - forbade her to move from where her feet were planted firmly in the moist ground.

Her body was growing weak. So was his; she could feel it as if it were her own.

His jaw clenched once before his mouth gaped open, eyes clearly roaming up and down the length of her body as she stood only feet away from him. He observed how the wetness of her tank bled through the material and gave his eyes sight to the cotton garment underneath which housed perfectly rounded breasts. As she breathed, they rose and fell, and he watched in wide-eyed interest as a bead of sweat originated somewhere beneath her jawline and ran its course down her chest and disappeared in the hollowness between them.

We shouldn't stay here.

I know.

Complications, complexities, conflicting emotions. Her heart began to race as she drew up enough strength to finally close the remaining distance between them. She stood now, peering up at him, their breathing becoming more rapid. Her tongue darted out of rosy lips to moisten them, then disappeared back into the cavern of her mouth. This remote action triggered something inside of him, and he brought his hands up and grasped her upper-arms in one rapid motion, emitting a brief exhale of air from her lips.

"This is..."

I know, she interrupted him again, but mind completely lost to the desire she drowned in, she leaned up and captured his parted lips within her own, sucking and biting until they both were left breathless and pulled apart.

They remained in close proximity as they attempted to catch their breath whilst thoughts caught up with actions. But even so, a moment of clarity didn't seem to change the fact that when she opened her eyes and saw him inches away from her, the emotions felt thrumming through her being were undeniably potent, and she knew he felt the same. She could feel it.

Gunfire pierced their ears, startling them out of their daze. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him with her to the ground, but not before a bullet lodged itself in the flesh of her arm. She cried out as they hit the jungle floor and rolled to safety in the brush nearby. He immediately crawled over to her as her head lolled back and blue eyes grew weary.

Tranquilizer rounds, she thought with a grimace. And he nodded in understanding, studying the puncture in her arm.

"We're going to find a way out of this, I promise," was the last thing she heard him say before the decreasing light between her lids was engulfed in completely darkness and she drifted off.

Nighttime would be approaching soon, and Will remained ducked down beneath the brush until certain their adversary had left them. When he heard no movement in the nearby area, he stood up and looked around, keen eyes pleading with his surroundings to find some sort of shelter to house them for the night. Through the trees he could make out the jaggedness of the cliffs nearby and deciding that it was their best shot for survival, he bent down and scooped Helen up, carrying her over his shoulder as he trudged along through the thickness of the jungle.

An hour of so more of light, he guessed, and beyond that point, the last thing they wanted to be was in this forest, unarmed, under the blanket of night.

One week earlier.

"Hi, Mom."

"Ashley," she said with a smile, then returned her eyes back to the open suitcase before her on the bed.

"Packing for your trip?"

"Yes. It's going to be very warm and very humid," she commented in disgust, poking at a flimsy tank top.

"Well hey, it won't be that bad. You are going with Will." Ashley grinned, and Helen looked at her daughter in slight confusion. "Oh come on, Mom. What do guys do when it's really hot out?"

"What do you mean?"

"They take their shirts off!" the younger woman said, rolling her eyes. "Have you ever seen Will shirtless?"

"Ashley!" Helen scolded her daughter, trying to disguise the smirk that crept onto her face. "Are you going to stand here and pester me or are you here to help? Hand me those belongings over there, please," she said, pointing towards some toiletries she'd laid out.

"Hey, all I'm saying is...just have fun, enjoy the scenery," Ashley said with a grin, handing her mother the objects and watching as she packed them away. "And don't get into too much trouble."

"I could say the same about you, this wild case you're taking on. All by yourself, I might add."

"Not all by myself, the Big Guy's coming with. Don't worry, Mom. I'll be fine. I'll check in with you at our scheduled times, 'kay?"

"Alright. I'll call you when we get there."

Helen smiled, and there was a moment of hesitation before she leaned in and wrapped her arms around her daughter. Ashley tensed for a moment before relaxing into the warmth of her mother's embrace and resting her chin on her shoulder.

"Be safe," Helen whispered.

They pulled apart and Ashley looked at the floor. "I will," she murmured, glancing back up before replying. "You too."

* * *

"You seem awfully giddy," she commented dryly, the only hint of humor the subtle quirk of her lips.

He glanced across the car seat with raised brows.

"Giddy?" he repeated, amused.

"Yes," she said, turning from the window to look at him. "I didn't realize a trip half-way across the world to deathly hot climates and even deadlier humidity levels was your idea of 'fun'."

He smiled. "Are you kidding? I read your report on the tribe. Magnus, this sounds incredible! I mean, an entire community of primitive people who communicate by thoughts and feelings. And they live in perfect harmony because of it. If we could even gain a sample of what they have..."

"We're not going to do anything but observe," she reminded him. "We're not bringing back any physical evidence, that was the one condition we were given in order to visit these people. If we uphold our agreement, they're very eager to have us visit them."

He nodded, understanding. "I suppose they don't get very many visitors."

"No, and in fact, there's few who know about them. Can you imagine the kind of tourist stop they'd be made into if the general public learned of their existence? They've lived in peace for thousands of years, and I hope their seclusion from the rest of the world remains the same forever."

The car came to a stop. Will and Helen stepped out and observed the private jet awaiting them.

"Shall we?" she asked with a smile, to which his reply was an even broader grin.

Maybe he was giddy, Will mused decidedly as they boarded the plane prepared for their 15-hour flight to the other side of the world.

Sundarbans,
Bangladesh

The flight had been pleasant, albeit long. Will had decided to finish reading the extensive reports and research already done up on the people of the "Lost Hill Tribe". Although history recorded their existence to be legit several thousand years ago, they had since then disappeared and scientists concluded the race had become extinct. Most of the hill tribe were of SinoTibetan descent, but a small fraction of the heritage could never be identified, most-likely the genetics that accounted for their abnormal capabilities Will figured.

Helen, on the other hand, had settled down in the seat across him with a book and a cup of tea. He had to smile when several hours later, she had dozed off with her book still in hand. The woman, who it would seemed had no need for sleep, ended up taking a several hour nap, and it was not too long after that Will had found himself no longer able to resist the lullaby of the engine's hum and gentle rocking of the aircraft.

The intrepid partners stepped off the plane, instantly met by a rush of thick, humid air. Helen nodded towards a jeep parked a ways away, a local driver waiting for them anxiously.

"We begin by vehicle, but the geography will become impossible after several miles. Then the rest of the trip is by foot," she explained as they walked.

Will nodded. "About how far of a trek is it?"

"That depends. There's often flooding in areas by the Ganges during the wet season, which works in the tribe's favor because it discourages any unwanted travelers," she continued. "If there's been any recent flooding, it may take the rest of the day to get to our destination due to detours."

They loaded their supplies into the jeep and began the next part of their journey up the mountain. Helen glanced over at her companion seated next to her as he gazed out into the opposite direction, apparently finding enjoyment in the foreign landscape. She didn't blame him, and in fact, it had excited her to realize of his own excitement for this mission. She wanted him to be passionate of their work, something he seemed to be gaining more and more with each case.

He had donned a green t-shirt, beige cargo shorts, and sunglasses, while she a light-blue tank top, khaki shorts, and a hat to shield her eyes from the blazing August sun. The hot air that rushed past them as they rode along the outer edge of the jungle mixed with the sweat forming upon her neckline and brow and caused her to shiver.

When the slope of the mountain became too steep and the terrain too rough to travel by vehicle, they unloaded their supplies and began to ready themselves for a possibly lengthy journey through the rain forest.

Helen looked surprised when the local remained still.

"I speak...little English," he said slowly. "I not go in." He pointed towards the forest wall before them and fear abruptly washed over his face. "The d-demon," he stuttered, then immediately lapsed into some sort of prayer in his native language.

Helen and Will exchanged concerned looks.

"If we don't have a guide, we can't navigate our own way, can we?"

"Actually we can, via my global positioning system. But I had hoped that when I had hired a guide he wouldn't be limited to driving us only up to this point," she commented quietly.

"He's genuinely terrified of this place," Will said, gesturing towards the other man. "There must be some sort of local legend or something integrated into his religious beliefs about this jungle."

"Maybe. I have heard a legend or two about the rain forest, but I hadn't thought much of it. Either way, I won't force him beyond his boundaries." Helen turned towards the local and smiled. "Thank you for accompanying us this far," she said sweetly, paying him his due amount.

The local lit up at the sight of the currency in his hands, bowed twice before each Helen and Will, then jumped back into the vehicle and began his descent down the slope.

"Well, I suppose we should be on our way," she said, extracting the GPS from her bag and switching it on. Within moments, she had their current location pinpointed and demonstrated their projected route on the screen.

The sun was still rising, not quite midday, and it beat down upon their backs as they hiked up the steepening incline, but fortunately, as they gained distance the canopy of trees over their head became thicker and shaded out most of the harsh heat of the sun. They walked in silence for the most part as they pushed their way deeper and deeper into the forest, Will ever-so curious but restrained since their last encounter to ask her more questions, and Helen preferring to listen to the indigenous surroundings around her, from the rushing of the nearby delta, to the birds and various wildlife movement that was foreign to her ears after settling for so long in the city. It gave her peace.

They stopped for a brief rest, and after gulping down water to quench his parched throat, he glanced across at Helen who was re-fastening her hair up, off her neck. He realized then that he had never seen her in her current state of dress, and took a few seconds while she was turned away to guiltily observe how long her legs looked in the shorts she was wearing. From her shapely calves to her muscular thighs, the skin seemed like it would be smooth to the touch and it surprised him that the thought would even enter his mind. Still, she was an attractive woman, and he would never find himself denying that.

She turned around, and his eyes shot up to meet hers.

"If you're finished enjoying the scenery," she said with a smirk, "we should continue on."

He cleared his throat and nodded abruptly, a sheepish look crossing his face as he stood up to readjust his travel pack. She made no further mention of catching him, but instead dwelt silently on the matter for a while longer. She'd never admit it, but the eyes of a man appreciating her figure was flattering even after 157 years, and especially after 157 years.

* * *

By the time there was the faint illumination of a fire in the distance, the sun was already dipping down behind the mountains in west, and Helen and Will were both exhausted from their trek. Fortunately, there had been no flooding along their path and therefore no need to double their travel time.

They approached the village eagerly, and the moment that they stepped foot into the firelight with smiling faces, the tribal members began gathering around them in fascination. Helen had initially been slightly worried about the language barrier, but figured that since a translator had already been here in the prior weeks to alert the people of their arrival, there wouldn't be much need of direct communication.

But the moment a young girl that Helen assumed was no older than fifteen or sixteen approached her and took her by the hand, her mind began to be filled with thoughts that were not her own.

Welcome to our home.

Helen's eyes widened and she spoke aloud. "I can hear you. Will!" she exclaimed, turning towards him. He nodded and slowly smiled, also able to distinguish different voices inside of his mind. He turned to meet her eyes.

"How is this even possible? We shouldn't be able to understand them, even if we can hear them."

All things will be explained to you shortly.

Helen glanced back at the girl before her, who gestured towards a place by the fire for her and Will to come sit. They followed her, and once seated, some children began to dance around them. A few girls gently removed Helen's hair tie and decorated her hair with flowers, and the boys placed some sort of handcrafted necklace around Will's neck that appeared to be pieced together with bones and stems and painted with blood.

One of the young boys knelt in front of Will and looked at him directly in the eye.

This means strength, Will heard, and the boy nodded towards the necklace.

"Uh, thank you," he said, and the boy eagerly nodded then joined the other children in dancing in celebration.

Similarly, one of the girls sat down in Helen's lap, and when she had her gaze, she filled her mind with thoughts as well.

This is for beauty. You are a beautiful woman.

Helen smiled and touched the girl's face. "Thank you," she said sweetly.

"I think they're happy to see us," Will said, leaning over to whisper in Helen's ear.

"I had no idea we would be welcomed like this, honestly."

As the flames grew higher and the children danced with the shadows cast by the fire, food and drinks were brought before them by some women of the tribe dressed in animal skins with ornate paintings on the dark flesh of their arms.

"Why are you celebrating?" Helen asked one of the little girls after taking a sip of the sweet-tasting drink.

Your arrival, the girl replied and then giggled. The gods have blessed us with your coming.

Helen glanced over at Will who nodded. He'd heard it too. They continued eating and listening to various people share stories with them, ask questions, and perform for them. By the time the festivities began dying down, and the flames were low and the smoke thick, Helen found herself yawning.

"Wow, first a nap on the plane and now I see you...yawn?" Will joked. He smirked as he walked over towards her place perched on a bundle of weeds and sticks that acted as a seat.

"It was a long day," she returned fire. "A girl does need her rest."

"Then why don't you go get some," he suggested. "Mad'Okla, the girl who's been showing us around? She's prepared a hut for us."

"A hut?" Helen asked, eyebrows raised.

Will hesitated. "Yeah, it's pretty spacious. But if you're not comfortable, I can always..."

"No, it's fine. Will you show me?"

After thanking the people and saying their good nights, he walked her a ways through the village until they reached a hut similar-looking to the others - crafted with clay and straw, and encompassed by stones. Will reached and pulled back the mesh doorway. The inside was illuminated by several lit torches hung on the walls. In the center of the room were mats on the floor for sleeping, as well as a cooking area with a circle of stones for a fireplace, some hung pottery, and flowers for both scent and decoration. Helen took a deep breath and sighed.

"It's lovely, isn't it?" She paused, placing one of her packs on the floor. "It's quite amazing how these people lead the simplest of lifestyle, unhindered by the outside world, and yet they may be one of the more advanced races known to man."

As she sat down and combed out her hair with her fingers, Will pondered her words.

"We consider technology an evolution for our race, but maybe it is a hindrance. Maybe..." he sat down a few feet away from her and placed his hand in his chin. "Maybe if we hadn't fueled our evolution into the form of technology, there would have been more time to explore different natural abilities of the human mind, like telepathy."

She nodded and smiled, reaching up to fiddle with one of the flowers in her hair. "You're right in that assumption. The Mayans for instance. A seemingly primitive race in our eyes, but for their time and maybe even ours, their knowledge of science, physics, the world around them, even art. It was astounding."

They shared a moment of silence as they thought, and Will glanced over at her. The way his breath hitched in his throat a little and his heart danced was not his doing, and was certainly not the reaction he wanted to undergo when looking at her. But the way the firelight danced around her and cast shadows in just the right areas of her face but lit up her eyes and her smile, and the way the curls of her hair hung loosely from the hairpieces the children had given her. It all made him forget he was even looking at her in such a way, let alone looking at her at all, so when her blue eyes traveled up to meet his and smiled at the way she saw herself in them, a blush rapidly washed over his cheeks.

Seeing his discomfort, she chimed, "I think it's time we both got some much-needed rest after our long journey today. Hmm?"

"Yeah. Good idea. I'll step outside if you'd like to get ready," he offered.

She nodded and waited for him to leave before she began rummaging through her pack for some nightwear. She settled for a simple pair of cotton shorts and another tank top, using a moist cloth to clean the grunge and sweat off her body before slipping into the clean fabric. She gently removed the hairpieces and set them aside before tying her hair back into a ponytail. Finished, she peeked out of the doorway and found Will sitting and looking up at the stars and joined him.

"I can't remember the last time I saw the night sky this clearly," he said in awe.

She sat down next to him with her back against the hut and gazed up at the stars, her breath catching in her throat in utter amazement.

"Neither can I."

"I always wanted to go up there when I was a kid. Study the stars, learn all their secrets, live there maybe someday."

"Then why didn't you? Not that I'm complaining," she said with a light chuckle. "Then I'd have to station my Sanctuary in outer space to have you work for me."

He grinned and chuckled as well. "I don't know. I guess I got lost in people, in the mind and everything down here. Kind of forgot how beautiful the things beyond us are."

She caught the message of his statement immediately and reached over to touch his arm.

"The unknown is beautiful, and I'm finding it very good to know that you've taken such tenacity and interest into it."

He glanced first at the hand on his forearm, then up into the bright eyes of hers that seemed to dazzle even in the darkness. He wanted to tell her how beautiful and peaceful she looked, and the desire to make this known to her suddenly overpowered him.

Her smile diminished before he had a chance to decide whether or not to tell her, and her eyes teared up, moisture pooling in the whites of her eyes ever so slightly as she gazed back at him. She tightened the grip on his arm and squeezed once before letting go. It caused him to both drown in her eyes even more but also become slightly perplexed. It was almost as if she was reacting to him, almost as if...he'd voiced his feelings out loud. Panic gorged his heart.

"I..."

May I speak with you?

The foreign voice pierced their thoughts, and they ripped their eyes away from each other to the form of Mad'Okla standing above them with a smile. How long had she been there?

"Yes, please," Helen offered, reaching up and wiping a single tear from her cheek.

The girl sat down before them and folded her legs under her. She held both of their eyes, traveling back and forth between them with her gaze as a sheer look of concentration washed over her. Will mused that perhaps the mental translation that took place when they spoke with her caused her effortless abilities to become slightly labored (if the translation wasn't already natural), or perhaps speaking with both of them at once was causing the strain. Either way, he was still so fascinated by these people.

After a few moments of concentration, the voice was in their heads once again.

It is rare that we receive any sort of visitors. You are a gift from the gods, my people all agree. As such, we hope that your stay here is most pleasant and welcoming.

Helen smiled at her. "Everything you have done for us is wonderful. I don't think we can even begin to thank you..."

You don't need to speak.

Helen stopped and narrowed her brows.

You can hear me, and I can hear you.

She glanced sideways at Will, who looked just as confused as her.

"You mean that I can...communicate with you as well?"

Yes. Just try, Helen. Please. Let go of the barrier in your mind, let any built up walls fall and with it, your reservations. You need to be willing to open up your mind for me to access, because right now, it's very impenetrable.

"Hey, sort of like Sally," Will commented, receiving an unamused look from his companion.

Helen hesitated for a moment, then closed her eyes and tried to find whatever state of mind she traveled to when communicating with the Sanctuary mermaid. It was a state that she never found herself in with any human being, and it almost embarrassed her to realize this: that in the 157 years of living, the only person she let her guard down around completely was a mermaid she'd given refuge to in her Sanctuary. It saddened her a bit, but ignoring the distraction, she pushed away the barriers of her mind gradually.

Will watched in interest as the younger woman knelt before Helen and pressed her hands on either side of her head.

This is better. I see...images now. Of life, of death, of many years of existence. Too many years. You are special, but you are also lonely. I can feel both the joys and agonies of your heart, what you detest and what you desire.

Helen's eyes flew open and she glanced over at Will who's face had grown concerned as he watched (and listened to) the exchange happening beside him. He felt as if he was witnessing too intimate of a conversation, and she obviously felt the same.

Please, concentrate, Helen.

She relaxed once again and closed her eyes.

Now try to look into my mind.

Helen let her breathing calm and her body completely relax into Mad'Okla's touch. And once she had done so, like the voice she had been hearing, she saw foreign images in her mind. Most of them were within the village, some in the forests nearby. There was life and death in these images as well, happiness and sadness. But nowhere did she sense the least bit of anger.

Her eyes flew open and she gasped. "Mad'Okla, I...this is astonishing."

Now think. Tell me something, anything. You've limited yourself to feelings. Voice these feelings.

She attempted to ignore Will's lingering presence by her side and concentrated once more.

I...don't know what to think. And at the mental confirmation from Mad'Okla, she smiled. "You heard that?"

Yes.

Helen grinned and glanced again at Will.

This is only the beginning, Helen. There will be more to come, more that you will learn to access during your stay here. You too, William.

Will smiled and nodded at the girl.

It is time to sleep, Mad'Okla said simply, nodding towards the diminishing lights within the village as fire were put out and torches dampened. Refresh your bodies and your minds for tomorrow. She stood up and smiled at both Will and Helen, but her smile rapidly lowered to a frown.

Please stay inside during the night. The thought surfaced in their minds as a plea, and without much question, they nodded. Sleep well, my friends.

"You too," Will said, and Mad'Okla bowed before turning and briskly making her way towards a hut in the distance.

"What do you think she meant by that?" Will asked, perplexed.

"I don't know. Perhaps she fears for the same reason our driver did."

"Well, I'm not going to argue. She probably knows what's best."

They stood, and Will followed her into the hut, watching as she gathered up the blankets and created a cozy bedding on the mats. She smiled as he sat down beside her.

"So what was that like?"

Helen hesitated. "It was...different."

"I bet. I mean, I wonder what it would be like to be able to literally access somebody's mind. And not just their thoughts, but their feelings! No wonder these people are such a peaceful kind. They have no secrets, no reservations from each other. That must be an ideal lifestyle."

"Indeed. Brings me back to your earlier statement on what life might be like if we hadn't let technology and 'advanced' ways of living dictate our lives." Another yawn escaped her lips, and he smiled.

"Right. Time for bed."

"I'll admit that the thought of sleep is very inviting."

"Good night, Magnus."

"Good night," she said sweetly, lying back and pulling the blankets up around her, watching as he stood to dim the burning torches. "And Will?"

"Hmm?" he asked, lying down a few feet from her and propping his head up with his hand.

She smiled, then looked down, shaking her head. "Never mind," she said simply, and a puzzled but humored look crossed his face.

He chuckled. "Good night."

"Sweet dreams," she replied, closing her eyes. It wasn't long before the temptation overcame her weary body and she drifted off into sleep, her mind filled with images of places she had been and people she knew, transporting her to what seemed like another reality in its entirety.

Beside her, Will struggled to fall asleep. He listened. He could hear distant voices within his head, and he swore several times that one of them belonged to Helen. He glanced over at her sleeping form and pondered this for awhile, watching her chest rise and fall with each deep breath and grinning when a small snore would escape her every now and then. Forgetting his previous musings as his fatigue took him over, he relaxed into the matting and shut his eyes.

Tomorrow, he thought plainly before he was taken over by dreams of his own.