TITLE: Temet Nosce (Know Thyself)

DISCLAIMER: If I owned them... Eh, we won't go there. I don't. So don't sue.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Story three in my series. Reading 'Starting Over Backwards' and 'That Which Doesn't Kill Us' first will make you less confused. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated.

Nothing made Henry Foss happier than being elbow-deep in a project for the Sanctuary. His task for the day was upgrading the servers and everything was going great. Normally, Murphy's Law dictated that something would go horribly wrong while things were being set up – an escaped resident or an emergency with some other system in the house – but today had been very uneventful so far. He was a couple hours ahead of the schedule that he'd given his boss, Helen Magnus, and would enjoy getting to surprise her with that news. Then he would have a bit of free time before evening rounds to work on a special little side project…

As he reached for a screwdriver on the workbench beside him, Henry was momentarily surprised to see a pair of little eyes watching him from around the table's leg. Two-and-a-half-year-old James Druitt giggled when he realized that he'd been caught spying.

"Oh, jeez, kid. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Henry asked as he stood up and went to get James. The toddler shrieked and laughed as he tried to run, but his little legs were no match for the tech expert's. James giggled hysterically as Henry picked him up and tickled him.

Will Zimmerman entered the computer lab and rolled his eyes when he saw the two of them. "THERE he is," he commented.

"The little monster ran off on you?" Henry asked as he held the still-giggling James upside down over his shoulder.

"That he did. Magnus asked me to watch him while she's doing an autopsy. I turned my back for one second…"

Henry nodded. "Yeah, that's about all it takes for this one. Why would he want to hang out in your boring office when he knows that I've got all this cool stuff to play with? Hey, James, you want to see my new stunner?"

James' vocabulary was full of words that most parents wouldn't dream of their two-year-old understanding. However, most two-year-olds didn't grow up in a haven for the creatures that go bump in the night. The little boy's eyes lit up at the mention of a 'stunner'. "Yeah!" he cried.

"You had better not have untested weapons powered anywhere near my son," Helen told Henry as she joined them. She was still wearing scrubs from her work in the medical lab.

"Uh, no, of course not," Henry agreed as he handed over her child. "Wouldn't dream of it."

"I thought you were keeping James in your office?" Helen asked Will.

"Um, yeah…but he was kinda restless, so we went for a walk."

She gave her protégé a knowing look. "Right." Helen then turned to Henry. "How are things coming along in here?"

"We're looking good. Access to records will be down for a couple minutes while I do the transfer, but no problems so far." He looked around for some wood to knock on, and finally just settled for using his own head. "I'll warn you before I bring everything down."

Helen smiled. "Thank you. Did you finish preparing the unit in the SHU for our new intake? Ashley should be here soon."

Henry nodded. "Yeah, everything's all set."

"It'll be good to have Ashley back," Will commented.

Helen nodded. "It will indeed." Her daughter had been in Australia for the past seven weeks, helping the team at the Sydney Sanctuary to research, track, and capture an abnormal. Things around the Old City Sanctuary had been very different without her. Everyone missed her, especially her mother. Since Ashley's 'return from the dead' nearly three years earlier, she hadn't ever been gone for so long. Helen would have been perfectly happy if she decided to never take such a lengthy trip again.

Two hours later, Helen was going through paperwork in her office when she saw on the video system that the cargo van had pulled into the estate. "Let's go say hello to your sister," she told James as she retrieved him from his play area in the corner.

John and Will had beat her to the main foyer; as Helen came down the stairs, the two men were already exchanging hugs with Ashley. "Welcome home," she told her daughter.

"Thank you. It is so good to be here. Hey, little prince!" she exclaimed as she reached for her brother. James eagerly went into her arms.

The front door opened again and a tall, brown-haired man came inside. "It's good to see you again, Ethan," Helen told him.

Dr. Ethan McLeod smiled as he shook her hand. "Likewise, Dr. Magnus." The handsome Australian xenobiologist had accompanied Ashley to Old City since their cargo was part of his research at the Sydney Sanctuary.

"How was your journey?"

"Really, really long," Ashley cut in before Ethan had a chance to say anything. "What day is it here? I'm not even sure anymore. I want the world's longest hot shower and some food and then maybe I'll feel like a human being again."

Ethan chuckled. "That about sums it up," he told Helen.

"Well, dinner should be served in about an hour, so you both have time to freshen up."

"The Big Guy's working on getting the van unloaded…but he could probably use some help," Ashley sheepishly told her mother.

She nodded. "I'll take care of it. Can you please show Ethan to one of the guest rooms when you go upstairs?"

"Of course. Come on." She set James on his feet and both she and Ethan picked up their bags before heading upstairs.

"I'll be in the garage," Helen told John.

"Do you need help?"

"I think we can manage, thank you."

Will just smiled as his boss left. "Like a kid on Christmas morning," he commented. "She can't wait to see what Santa brought."

"Mmm."

The elevator bell sounded as it reached the ground floor. Henry stepped off and looked around. "Where's Ashley?" he asked the two other men when he saw they were alone.

"Upstairs, settling in," John told him.

"Aw, she couldn't wait two seconds for me to say hi?"

Will laughed. "You don't wanna get between that girl and her shower." Henry rolled his eyes and headed for the staircase.

Ashley and Ethan walked down the hallway in the living quarters. "This place is incredible," he told her as he looked around.

"Mom always says that anything worth doing is worth doing right," she told him with a smile before opening one of the doors. "Oh, good, it is set up," she commented when she saw that the bed had been made. "You like it? You've got a view of the courtyard."

"Anything with a mattress will do," he replied with a grin.

"Wanna know the best part?" Ashley asked. She stepped back into the corridor and opened the door on the other side of the hall. "My room's right here."

Ethan's smile widened as he joined her in the hallway. "Well, then I like this room even more."

Ashley stood on her toes and kissed him. "Come get me before you go downstairs?" she requested.

"Of course." As they parted to their respective suites, neither noticed that someone was standing at the end of the hallway. Henry was frozen in surprise from what he'd seen.

Ashley's involved with this guy? Since when?

TBC...