Title: Three Days
Author: NoCleverSig
Genre: Humor, Romance, UST
Summary: Sexual tension builds in the Sanctuary when Magnus gives her staff a long weekend off and Will discovers why.
Rating: Teen
Disclaimer: I own nothing of Sanctuary or its characters, I just play with them. I copyright only my words and my story.
Author's Note: Having just written "All Deaths I Could Endure," my brain popped this out in pure self defense. Time to cheer up and have some fun, folks! Peace. NCS

Three Days
(Copyright 2010, NoCleverSig)

Three days.

Three whole days.

What was Dr. Will Zimmerman going to do with three whole days off?

He never had time off. The concept of a weekend was one that didn't exist in Helen Magnus's world. Heck, she didn't even believe in vacations, unless you counted her long weekend in Italy every seven years. In her mind, their work, their life was a vacation. Kind of a sick, dangerous, dysfunctional one, but he had to admit, they did get to travel. A lot.

Kate was going to visit some friends up north. Henry was going to a gaming convention in Vegas. Even the Big Guy was going…somewhere. And Will?

If it had been a couple of years ago, when he had had a normal life, he would have taken a trip down the coast with a girlfriend. Maybe called some friends and hung out. But the sad part was he didn't have a girlfriend, and he didn't have any friends (not outside the Sanctuary, that is). The thought made him pause. He wasn't sure that was such a good thing, but he'd think about that later.

Maybe he'd just catch up on some reading, take a couple of day trips around Old City. Visit some museums, maybe see a movie. Magnus had said she would take care of things while everyone was away. So go have fun. She'd said it verbatim: "Go have fun." He wished he would have recorded it. Caught it on a Flip Video and posted it on You Tube for the whole darn world to see. He didn't think he'd ever hear it again. Never thought he'd hear it even once.

Fun. He used to know what that looked like. And he was starting to get pissed off that he couldn't remember.

He was walking toward Magnus's office. It just felt weird leaving the Sanctuary for three days and letting her run it all by herself, like dereliction of duty or something. God, had he drank the Helen Magnus Kool-Aid or what? He hadn't had a vacation, time off at all really, in two years, and here he was feeling bad because the boss was giving them a long weekend, like normal people, which of course they weren't, but still….

He turned the corner and heard laughter. Magnus was laughing. A high-pitched, sort of girly laugh. Not her usual, "Ha…ha…ha…I'm so British and brilliant," laugh. This was different.

He walked into her office to find her sitting on the couch next to a man. A very handsome, very tall man with grey hair and brown eyes, late 40s, (a few years older than Magnus if she were normal old) and wearing a tweed coat and jeans. Who the hell wore tweed coats these days?

"Will?" Magnus said, almost startled. "I thought perhaps you'd already left for the weekend?"

Will stuck his hands in his pockets and shook his head. "Nope, still thinking about what I'm going to do with all of this free time I have," he said, hoping she caught the little dig.

He was sure she did, but she ignored it.

"Please come in. I'd like to introduce you to a colleague of mine. Dr. David Anderson, this is Dr. Will Zimmerman."

He thought Magnus had hesitated on the word "colleague," but he couldn't be sure.

Anderson got up to shake hands. And yep, he was tall. What was it with Magnus and abnormally tall men? What was wrong with just averagely tall men? Probably the abnormal thing had something to do with it; held some sort of subconscious psychological appeal to her. That was it.

"Pleasure to meet you, Dr. Zimmerman."

"Likewise," Will said, shaking his hand. Fit too. The guy obviously worked out. Will wished he had more time to work out. He wasn't in bad shape. He ate right, tried to go at least three nights a week to the gym Magnus had downstairs, but still. Must be nice to have free time to really take care of yourself, run, join a real gym, shop for nice clothes, like the tweed coat and Calvin Klein jeans Dr. David was wearing.

"Will's our resident psychiatrist. He works with our abnormals on their psychological conditions, helping them accept who they are, dealing with issues they may have. He also helps us with captures, everything else around the Sanctuary really. He's quite brilliant," she said, smiling at him.

Will blushed. He felt like his fifth grade teacher had just given him a, "You're a Star!" sticker in front of the class.

"Well, I do what I can," he said, fumbling. "And you? I guess you're familiar with our work?"

David laughed, smiling at Magnus. God, the guy had perfect teeth. He probably whitened them.

"I'm with the Biology Department at Stanford. I've worked with Helen, I don't know, what?" he raised a hand looking at her, "Ten years or so?"

She nodded, smiling up at him. Magnus didn't smile a lot. She was smiling a lot now though.

"I call David in from time to time to consult on special projects. He's also an excellent hunter. His specialty is herpetology."

"Boa constrictors, actually," David said.

Hmm, snakes. How Freudian, Will thought.

"I've done a lot of work with giant boas in Venezuela. Seen my fair share of abnormals down in the Amazon, that's for sure."

"You're like a regular Indiana Jones," Will said. Oops. He just said that out loud didn't he?

Magnus gave Will a sideways look. David just laughed. "Yeah, well, it's not as glamorous as it may seem trudging in waders through mosquito-filled waters searching for giant snakes, but hey, it's a living."

"Yeah, I hear ya'," Will replied uneasily. This was definitely getting awkward. "So, you just stopping by for a visit?" Why the hell did he ask that? Every single thing out of his mouth was making matters worse.

"Actually," David glanced at Helen, "I'm staying the weekend. Helen and I haven't seen each other in awhile, and I had some free time, so I thought we'd catch up."

"Really?" Will said looking at Magnus who pointedly avoided his gaze. "Well, you two go have fun," he said, throwing Magnus' words right back at her.

Hmph.

"So who the hell is he?" Will asked.

Will leaned against Henry's door, arms crossed, watching Henry pack for Vegas. He wasn't sure why, but he felt angry and a little like he'd been suckered. Actually, a lot like he'd been suckered.

"Dr. Anderson? Oh, he's a good guy. I've worked with him before."

"How come I haven't met him until now?"

Henry shrugged. "He does freelance work mostly. Doesn't come up to the Sanctuary a lot. I think Doc went down to see him a few months ago at Stanford."

Will thought back. "You mean when she went to pick up that shipment from the Amazon?"

"Yeah."

Hmmm….He wasn't going to ask.

"So is there something up with the two of them?"

He had to ask.

Henry looked at him. "Like what?"

Will shrugged. "I don't know. Like a relationship?"

Henry shook his head. "None of my business, Will."

"Yeah, I know, but…," Will started. The door banged open hitting Will on the back of the head.

"Ouch? Don't you knock?" he said, watching Kate Freelander push her way through Henry's door.

"Don't you know better than to lean against doors? They're for walking through. Hello?" she scolded him.

Henry looked up at her. "Hey, I thought you were out of here already?"

"About to be. Got my suitcase right here," she slapped her duffle bag hanging from her shoulder. "Just had a quick question though. Who's the hottie with the boss downstairs?"

Henry rolled his eyes.

"That would be Dr. David Anderson," Will said. "He's a colleague of Magnus's."

"Colleague? Heh. Yeah, right. So that's what the old kids are calling it these days," she laughed.

Will felt suddenly defensive. "He is. I just met him. He's a Stanford biologist. Does a lot of freelance work with Magnus." Why he was defending this, he had no idea.

Kate just smiled. "Well, at least we know now why we're getting the weekend off," she paused, an evil grin creeping across her face, "'Cause it looks like the boss is going to get off this weekend," she quipped, snorting. "Sorry, I just couldn't resist." She cracked herself up.

Henry kept packing, not saying a word.

"Hey, they're just friends," Will said. He didn't know that...Why did he say that?

Kate snorted again. "Yeah, right, friends my ass. Did you see his eyes? HOT! And have you looked at Magnus today? HOT! Hey, I'm glad for her. I'm just happy she's not still moping around for baldy."

"Kate…," Will started, shaking his head.

"So what's up with you?" she interrupted, changing the subject. "What wild times do you have planned Zimmerman?"

"I'm staying here."

She looked at him, mouth open. "Say what?"

"I'm staying here. Hang out. Read. Maybe catch a movie. You know, relax." he said.

"Okay, but I wouldn't get too close to the Double Doc action downstairs. Fly in the ointment, Will, FLY IN THE OINTMENT," she said, waving a finger in front of his face. "Got to go. See ya!"

Kate took off.

Will looked at Henry.

"She's got a point," Henry said.

"The Sanctuary's a big place. I think we can coexist for a couple of days."

Henry tilted his head.

"Fine!" Will threw up his hands in disgust. "If I have to, I'll lock myself up in my room. Better?"

Henry smiled.

"Sheesh," Will said, leaving.

He managed to avoid the 'Double Docs,' as Kate had called them, Friday night. He did lock himself up in his room and read. Caught up with some of his Journals of Modern Psychology. It was a good time.

Not.

Saturday he got up early (hoping to avoid any run in with Magnus or her 'friend') and headed out to the museums. It was a nice day. Blue sky, no clouds, 72 degrees. A really nice day. About 1 o'clock he got hungry and remembered this little French Bistro Magnus had told him about down by the wharf. He walked in to grab some lunch and ran straight into. Yeah, Magnus and Anderson.

Actually, he didn't run into them at all. Just saw them sitting in a corner. A kind of cozy corner, he noticed. Small table, knees touching. They were talking and sharing some dessert. Something chocolate. Maybe an éclair? Anderson was drinking coffee. No doubt Magnus was drinking tea. And she was wearing…jeans. A blue cardigan stylishly tied around her shoulders, her neck. They were speaking softly and laughing. Will felt like a voyeur and left.

He ended up at McDonald's.

Later that night he decided to venture into the library. The library would be safe, right? Surely Magnus wasn't the kinky kind…He stopped. He didn't want to think about Magnus's sex life. Too dangerous. Too slippery a slope.

Just go to the library, find something to read, go back to the big room, watch some TV, and order a pizza. There was a baseball game on he wanted to see. Yeah, relaxing.

He grabbed a book, not really paying attention to what it was. Something old and crusty. It would do. Started flipping through the pages as he walked down the hall and looked up to see Magnus walking straight toward him. Black dress, slit up to here, cleavage down to there, pearls, black stockings, hooker heels (okay, he was projecting a bit there). In short, Kate was right. She was hot. Incredibly hot.

"Will," she said, smiling. "How is your weekend going?"

He did his best to keep his eyes level with hers. It was hard. Everything was hard.

"Uh…," he stammered. "Good. Just, you know, hanging out, relaxing. Going to read a book, watch some TV."

She looked at his book. "Mating Habits and Genitalia of the Abnormals of Indonesia," she said, turning her head to read the spine. "Hmm."

Will looked down. "Yeah, well, you know. Got to keep up with this stuff."

Magnus nodded. "Certainly."

He started to walk away.

"Will," she stopped him, hand casually on his arm. He looked at her again, eyes sweeping her body. He couldn't help it. She looked…gorgeous.

"I wanted to talk, if you have some time. Maybe…," she stopped, looked past him, and smiled. Dr. David Anderson walked down the hall in a tailored grey suit that made him seem like he just stepped out of an Armani advertisement in GQ. Will couldn't help but hear Magnus gasp and notice her appreciative gaze. She was having trouble keeping her eyes level as well.

"Dr. Zimmerman," he reached out and shook Will's hand. "Good to see you again."

"Just call me, Will."

"Sure, and I'm David."

"David," Will replied.

"Helen said she gave the staff the weekend off. You taking some time to relax?" David asked.

Staff. So that's what he was to Magnus. He felt like all of the air had just been punched out of his lungs.

Will nodded politely. "Yeah, went to some museums, catching up on some reading," he held the book out in front of him, then quickly pulled it back before Anderson could see the title.

"Great. That's good. You guys do incredible work here, really."

"Thank you," Will said. Okay, Anderson wasn't such a bad guy after all "And what are you two crazy kids up to tonight? You both look great, by the way," Will said, trying his best to keep it light and to keep his eyes off of Magnus.

"David's taking me to see Jersey Boys. It's in town for the week. He's very fond of it." Magnus answered.

"It's awesome!" David said. "If you ever have the chance, you should go. I think you'd really enjoy it."

Will nodded. "Yeah, well, I'm not that into musicals, but…who knows."

David looked at his watch. "Helen, we better get going if we're going to make our dinner reservation."

Dinner and a show. Nice.

"Yes, you're right." She turned to Will. "Have a good evening, Will," Magnus said, looking at him. There was something in her eyes he couldn't read. "We'll finish our conversation later."

What conversation? He didn't know they had started a conversation.

"Ready?" she turned to David and smiled. He walked up and put a hand around her waist and escorted her down the hallway to the elevator. Will stood there long enough to hear Anderson compliment her dress and the elevator ding and descend. He looked down at his book, thought about the baseball game and the pizza.

"Fuck it," he said. "I'm going to bed."

By 2 a.m., Will couldn't keep his stomach from growling. The book was a bust. He couldn't sleep. He was upset. And his stomach hurt from the Big Mac he'd downed 13 hours ago at the pier.

He got up, put on some pants, and trudged downstairs to the kitchen to see if he could scrounge up something to eat, head back upstairs, and maybe flip on a movie. He walked in, turned on the light, and almost ran over Helen Magnus. She had a tray of fruit and chocolate dipping sauce in one hand and a bottle of chilled champagne in the other. She was barefoot, her hair tousled, and wearing a red silk kimono. He was sure it was the only thing she had on.

"Will," she said, startled, her voice unusually high.

"Magnus," he nodded. "Been smoking again?" he asked, pointing to the tray.

She tilted her head and squinted at him. "Sorry?"

Will laughed. "Uh, that was a joke. You know a vague reference to marijuana? After you smoke pot you're suppose to get the munchies they say." Not that he'd ever tried it, of course.

"Oh!" she said, understanding now. "No, I don't take drugs."

He nodded. He expected as much.

"Well, how was the play?" he asked, not knowing what else to talk to her about as she stood there pretty much half naked with a plate full of fruit and a bottle of alcohol.

"Uh, very enjoyable." She smiled and squinted at him. "This is awkward, isn't it?"

"Just a bit," he agreed.

"Okay," she said. "How about this. I'm going to leave now, and you're going to stay, because you would obviously like something to eat, and we're going to pretend for the time being that this never happened."

Will nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

She smiled, that strange look was in her eyes again. She started to walk past him and he past her when she turned back around.

"Will, just so you know, I'm not in love with him," she said.

He turned around, puzzled. It wasn't like Magnus to offer such personal details.

"He's just a friend, a good friend," she continued. "And sometimes, when I'm lonely, a bit more than that."

She turned around and started to leave again, but Will put a hand out to stop her.

"You know it's okay for you to have a life, Magnus. You don't owe me an explanation."

"I know," she said quietly. "I just felt like giving you one." She smiled at him again, her eyes still unreadable. "Goodnight, Will," she said and headed off.

He hesitated, shook his head, and yelled, "Wait!"

Magnus turned around, her hands still balancing the fruit, the champagne.

He walked over to her. "You know, if you'd ever like to go out to dinner, see a show, maybe have lunch at a little French Bistro down by the wharf? I'd be happy to take you. Just so you know," Will said, his eyes searching hers.

She smiled at him, a full on smile that lit his heart. "I'd like that," she said softly and left.

And suddenly, Will wasn't hungry anymore.

END