Author's Notes: Written for taimoset . Because she put this idea in my head and it wouldn't leave me alone. Thanks for the lovely lilferret for the Beta. Flashbacks are written in italics.

E. D. W

It had come down to this, a dance between the two of them. Two sets of fiery eyes locked on one another, not letting any movements slide. She had been silent up until this point, watching, waiting. Calculating any and all possible moves of attack. There would be no coming back from this, not the same at least.

"Why the serious look Helen?" It was a taunt; she had always been so good at taunting her. But she wasn't going to fall for it, not this time.

Helen remained silent, jaw tense as she kept on watching.

"I remember you used to have such a nice smile." Dana's own lips twitched up, more a smirk than anything else. "Now come Helen, you're really going to leave me talking to myself? What happened to all those times you would chatter the night away?"

Helen flinched and that was enough for Dana to see that she had struck a nerve. Her lips curved up into a smile. "You remember those nights, don't you Helen?"

She took a step forward and Helen tensed, preparing to attack. "I remember when your eyes would roll to the back of your head as you whimpered, begging," Dana whispered, but Helen heard every word.

"I know very well who you are," Helen murmured.

Dana's eyebrows rose as she smiled. "Ah, so you Ido/I remember."

The night was warm and Helen's skin was on fire. She tried to not let it show, but the small whimper that left her mouth was enough of a betrayal. The green eyes staring back at her danced in amusement.

A gentle finger traced the lines of her collarbone and Helen shuddered underneath her, the touch electric to her skin. The lips, curved in amusement, leaned down, tracing the same path with butterfly kisses.

"Now, now Helen, relax. You're much too tense for this to work out."

Helen gave a weak chuckle, forcing herself to breath and relaxed into the mattress underneath her. Soft lips found the sweet spot on her neck and her chuckle became a low moan.

Helen shook her head, clearing the memories that had surfaced with Dana's words. That was buried in the past and that's where it was going to stay. There was no use for old feelings at a time like this.

"You looked as beautiful then as you do now," she commented. "But then again, you'll look that way for a very long time, won't you Helen?"

Her step forward had Helen bracing herself again, as her shoulders tensed and the grip she had on the metal pole in her hand tightened. Dana noticed this and cocked her head to the side, clicking her tongue.

"After all these year and you still clench. Really Helen, it's a wonder your muscles aren't constantly sore."

Her hands were warm and teasing as she kneaded out the sore knots, applying just enough pressure to make Helen moan in content and melt her body into the mattress.

"I take it you like that?" a soft voice whispered in her ear, kissing the edge of it as Helen nodded.

The hands continued caressing her back delicately, the touch soft and warm. The hands traced lower and lower, making their way down Helen's back to the curve of her hips. They tickled her sides for a moment, green eyes shining as Helen squirmed, a giggle escaping her lips.

"Have I discovered your secret? Is the great Helen Magnus really ticklish?" The fingers teased again, before going back to their soft caress on her back and Helen sighed.

Though her heart soon sped up as the soft hands massaging her brushed over the sides of her breasts. So delicately that for a moment Helen didn't know if it had been on purpose or not.

When she did it again, Helen couldn't suppress the small gasp that escaped her.

"Turn around," said the voice in her ear, and Helen found her stomach clenching in anticipation as she wasted no time in doing so.

"Enough games!" Helen shouted, more than fed up with the situation.

"Who says I'm playing?" Dana asked, her green eyes locked on Helen's, studying her.

Her move came out of nowhere and for a moment Helen was thrown off balance as the hit stung her face. She hadn't wanted it to come down to this. No, that was a lie. A part of her wanted nothing more than to destroy the woman in front of her with her bare hands.

The same way she had destroyed Helen.

"You know it was never personal, right Helen? Ashley could have been anyone's daughter, really, she just happened to be yours."

The memory of Ashley burned inside of her and Helen didn't think twice before striking out at the woman in front of her. She wanted to make her suffer and hurt the same way she was.

"Don't you dare speak her name!" she cried out, letting her fist connect with the side of Dana's body.

Dana stumbled, but wasn't one to back down from a fight and she gave as well as she got. Dropping to the floor, she kicked out her leg, hitting Helen on the knee.

Helen cried out softly, a whimper, her head was thrown back as her eyes fluttered. She didn't want to close them, wanting to keep them open as much as possible, to take everything in. She traced her tongue against her dry lips, wetting them.

Soft kisses were placed on her stomach, a gentle, but firm hand held her hips down as Helen willed herself to breath properly. Smooth fingers stroked her leisurely, not enough to make her come undone, but enough to make every nerve feel on fire.

Helen whimpered again, a whisper of a moan leaving her lips as she begged for more.

She felt a smile curve around her stomach, and felt a similar one come onto her own face. The smile soon melted as Helen bit down on her bottom lip, moaning as she felt one sleek finger enter her.

There was a gash above her right eye and her face had a bruise over her jaw. It wasn't going to look pretty for the next coming days, but Helen couldn't care less about that. Adrenaline pumped in her veins as she lashed out at the redheaded woman in front of her.

Helen tackled her, pushing her against the wall, her arm pushing against her neck. Dana scratched at Helen's arms, trying to break free but it was useless, her grip on her strong. Dana brought her head forward, hitting it against Helen's, making her grip loosen.

The world spun for a few seconds and that was enough for Dana to break free. Using Helen's distraction for her advantage, she turned her body, grabbing one of Helen's arms and twisting it against her back.

"I don't want to hurt you like I did your pretty little girl, Magnus," she whispered against Helen's ear. "That would be such a waste, don't you think?"

Helen snarled at her, shoving her elbow into Dana's stomach and making her stumble back. Turning around, Helen's eyes flashed with anger as she watched the woman in front of her. Every bone in her body was telling her to end it there and then, never more have to worry about it, but Helen knew it wasn't that easy.

She was moaning in earnest now, one hand clutching the sheets beneath her as the other tangled itself in the mass of red hair. Helen gasped, her eyes glazed over as her hips bucked beneath her.

Soft lips curled around her clit and sucked softly on the tiny bundle of nerves. Helen moaned again, her whole body arching off the bed. The fingers inside of her curled, stroking her sweet spot and she was useless to resist them, her orgasm exploding inside of her as her body trembled.

The grip she had on the sheets loosened as she sagged against the bed, completely sated. Her fingers now stroked the strands of hair and she tugged on them softly, bringing her up until they were face to face.

Helen pulled her in for a kiss, passionate and hungry. She could taste soft hints of herself on her tongue. Helen nipped at her bottom lip and smiled, "That was…lovely."

It had come down to this; she had realized it the moment she had set eyes on Dana Whitcomb. There had been something about her voice that had caught her attention since their first phone call, but at the time she had been so distressed she had barely paid attention to it.

But now, seeing her standing in front of her it was impossible to forget.

"You never forgot me, did you Helen?" Dana asked, her voice croaking.

"Shut up," Helen whispered. She wasn't going to talk about it.

"I never intended for things to go this way, believe me." Helen closed her eyes, shaking her head. She wasn't going to hear any of this. "We had a good time back then, didn't we?"

"You killed my daughter!" Helen shouted fiercely, reminding Dana as much as herself just why she had to do this.

"…You know that's not true Helen," Dana said, risking a step forward and when Helen remained silent, she continued talking. "It's why you're not going to kill me. It isn't in you."

"How do you know what I am or am not capable of?" Her hand tightening around the barrel of the gun, though her finger wasn't yet on the trigger. Her body was shaking.

"Because I know you. And you know me."

"I know a lie," Helen whispered.

"Believe what you want to believe Helen, but you're not going to pull that trigger. You and I both know that."

Her hand was shaking and Helen gripped it with her other one as she glared at the woman in front of her. "The woman…" Her voice broke and she started again, "You are no longer that woman. You were never that woman."

Dana nodded slowly. "Yet when you look at me all you see is Elizabeth don't you?"

"Helen, come, I want you to meet a very good friend of mine," James had said, pulling her through the crowd of people and into a more secluded corner of the party they were attending.

Why he had invited her along to one of these functions was beyond her. He knew they bored her to no end. Still, she accompanied him until they were face to face with a lovely young woman, barely twenty-five, from the looks of it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Elizabeth. Elizabeth Whitcomb." Redhead, beautiful, with striking green eyes and a contagious smile. "James here has told me very much about you."

"I hope he hasn't told you everything," Helen had teased, smiling back as she shook hands with the woman in front of her.

"Oh, just enough to make me anxious enough to want to meet you." Elizabeth smiled, and there was something in her eyes, a sparkle that had Helen smiling back.

"I'm sure you'll find out that stories aren't all they're built up to be."

"Oh, I look forward to that." Helen had raised an eyebrow at the younger woman's confession, but had felt a similar smirk grace her lips.

They would get along very well, these two.

Helen flinched at the name, but remained motionless despite all of it. Dana moved again, taking a step closer and closer to the door. If she continued talking, playing on Helen's emotional side she might just have a chance to escape – maybe.

"It wasn't all a lie Helen," Dana said, taking another careful step towards the exit.

Helen saw her move and considered what could be done. She faltered for just a moment but that was enough and the bullet missed its mark enough to graze the wall. She was gone as soon as she had come and Helen sunk to the ground, exhausted.

She had let her escape. Her daughter's killer was now free and it was all because she, Helen Magnus, had refused to act when she should have, letting her emotions get the best of her.

Later on when Will and the rest came to find her, she was in the same spot she had been since Dana had left. She looked terrible; the gash over her eye still letting droplets of blood drip from her head and half of her face was bruised. She probably had a few cracked ribs as well.

But that was the least of her pains.

When Helen woke up, her eyes searched the room only to discover she was alone. Sitting up slowly, something glittered in the faint sunlight streaming through the window and caught her eye. Moving over, she noticed a small golden pin lying on the bedside table, with a note attached under it.

'Some stories are better told in person.'

Helen smiled at the note, her fingers tracing the words as she picked up the small pin. The engraving on it caught her eyes. Three letters, initials: '

E.D.W.'