Disclaimer: I don't own Sanctuary or any of its characters. Wishful thinking aside.

Authors Note #1: *Rated for: adult language, adult situations, sexual undertones, and cuddling. – Spoilers: up to and including the infamous season two episode "Sleepers". - Meant to fit in soon after "Sleepers" but long before "Awakening."

Authors Note #2: Please read and review. I am excited to see what you all think. I am open to comments, advice, and constructive criticism.

Defying Disaster

Chapter 2

She knew she should probably leave. But she didn't. She couldn't. - Not tonight. Because for the first time in over a century, it appeared that Nikola Telsa might actually need her. Not her charms, or her money, her influence or her mind. But her...

She suspected that even James wouldn't have been able to see this coming. …This perverse twist of fate. Nikola had always been one to defy the odds, regardless of the capacity.

She sighed quietly, watching the man fuss about in his sleep. He was laid out on top of the covers, still fully dressed and looking somehow unconscionably small. Dwarfed by the resplendent nature of the large, four poster bed. – Even she had to admit that he'd certainly looked better, now a hot mess of twitching limbs and rumpled clothing. Sporting a mismatched jumble of deep frowns and drawn lines as he murmured wordlessly, tossing in place as his agitation got the better of him.

He was all but drowning in it now. An explosive cocktail of tangled up emotions and half shot instincts that now existed only as phantoms. Mere ghosts of what they had been before. Confused and bereft as he sought to make sense of himself amidst the whirl gyre of emotion and doubt that made up his conscious mind. – A veritable overload of vulnerably, fear, uncertainty, and partially muted grief that had only now succumbed that of an exhausted sleep. And while that was certainly a small mercy in itself, she certainly didn't envy him the nature of his dreams. Not after everything that had happened.

"Oh Nikola.." She murmured softly, feeling somehow as though she was rediscovering heart break at the mere sight of him. – This wasn't what she'd wanted. Not by a long shot. No matter how irritating he was oft to be.

It was remarkably like observing an abruptly declawed feline trying to acclimate to the life of a house cat. - A feral jungle cat that had been unexpected collared and shipped off to live within the stifling confines of some far flung urbania. Expected to simply adjust and carry on after a lifetime of freedom and ferocity in the wilds.

It just wasn't right.

In fact the inherent wrongness of it all had permeated the very air. Evident in even the smallest, most unconscious movements as Nikola slept on, apparently obvious to her intrusion as the minutes ticked by. – She felt remarkably helpless as she watched him sleep. Taking in the way the man's long fingers had begun kneading almost rhythmically into the linens. His lips twitching, as if flirting with the tail edges of a snarl the longer the action went unchecked, revealing only blunt human teeth and an unexpected shadow of vulnerability that was almost discomforting to take in. – As if even in the depths of REM sleep his body was still desperately trying to regain what it had lost.

And the truth was that metaphor burned her far more then she cared to admit. Because as much as it was probably for the best, this was simply not Nikola. Not her Nikola. And certainly not the world's Nikola either.

Because she'd lied to him the evening they'd returned home. The same night she'd dug out her last, long hidden bottle of Premier Cru to ease the nature of her ill, if not entirely unexpected news. – She'd lied in a misguided attempt to alleviate his depression. Hoping he'd respond better to her light teasing as she'd tried her best to steer him back towards his usual unflappable humor. She supposed no one could really blame her for trying. But the rot of it was that Nikola wasn't back to his old self.

His vampirism had been a part of him since birth. Latent or otherwise, it made very little difference. It made up the most basic part of him, right down to raw synapses and freshly formed cells, a pattern wound into his very DNA. - A throwback gift from some long distant vampiric ancestor. And now that had been stripped from him, leaving him bereft of a part of himself that the source blood had simply awakened, not created.

She couldn't imagine what that must be like. Essentially losing a part of yourself in such a way. - It was bloody well heart breaking.

As for all Nikola was an absolutely scoundrel, and as much as he tried to disabuse everyone of the notion, he'd always had a good heart. Tarnished and perhaps slightly burnished, like that of long unpolished silver, but a heart none the less. - Something that hadn't changed despite his baser nature, and told her more then enough about the measure of the man himself.

– Because despite largely bringing this on himself, Nikola really hadn't deserved this.

She'd once told Will that she rarely slept unless her patients did. And while she knew that this night that claim wasn't even close to being true, she planned on breaking it regardless. Trusting the others to see to the necessary nightly affairs as she slipped off her heels and tip toed silently across the threshold. - Closing the door behind her with a soft, but undeniably firm click.

Because she'd been working in the labs when the truth of the matter had finally hit her, striking her down with all the couth of grenade to the face as she'd collapsed into the nearest chair. – Nikola was going to die. Not today, and certainly not tomorrow. But now, some day he would. Leaving her behind, alone, just like everyone else.

And she wasn't ashamed to say that it was something that would simply not stand. She would find at way... And to hell with the consequences! - Because as strange a thought as it was to entertain, especially considering all he'd put her through in the past, somehow she'd always counted on Nikola living forever.

She closed her eyes for a long moment. Forcing herself to simply listen as the man breathed. Welcoming it in as his scent whirled and shifted in the recycled air. The room was thick with him. That rich, heady smell of expensive shoe leathers, singed wiring, and perfectly aged, fire warmed wine. A riotous, yet enticing brew that melded together with that of his favorite brand of Parisian cologne, a signature scent that he'd favored since the early thirties.

- Tickling her senses with that of fond memories and the sudden, aching desire to make brand new ones…

With the comfortable ease of long practice she set about untying his patented leather shoes. Wiggling his stocking clad feet free with an undeniably victorious air as Nikola snuffled through the whole endeavor. She tackled the man's stockings and trousers next, childishly holding her breath as she wormed expensive slacks down equally as enticing lean muscled hips.

She found herself nibbling on her lower lip as her eyes skirted across the span of his groin. Fingers trailing boldly down the length of his boxer briefs, reveling in the way the dusky, charcoal silk rippled under her hands. - Teasing along the base of him until he began stirring restlessly, body slowly responding to her attentions as time seemed to slow, trickling past like honey tracing the rim of it's jar.

But that wasn't why she was here. Not wholly at least… - Not this time.

She forced herself back to her task after a few more teasing brushes. Taking in the long, muscled length of his thighs before her hands moved upwards. Setting to work on ridding the man of his buttoned waist coat and tie, gingerly navigating the awkward splay of his elbows through the arm holes as the man shifted underneath her. Heading tossing to the side for a heart stopping moment as the shuttered fan of his long lashes fluttered with growing awareness. – Forcing her to go still lest she wake him.

She savored it for a long moment, seeing Nikola looking so…debauched, so open. Indeed she could only remember a handful of times she'd seen him this way, all but stripped of his usual layers and resplendent waist coats. Old fashioned to a fault in the way he still favored the layered fashions that made up the era of their births.

Nikola had always worn clothing like a shield, a form of armor that only he seemed to understand. It went beyond elegant tastes and a fond penchant for the era of yesteryear and more like a form of expression. – An extension of his person in way that her own antiquated tastes could hardly compare.

She had only just finished with the last button of his dress shirt, quickly shedding her dress jacket and slacks when Nikola stirred awake. Looking down at himself almost uncomprehendingly, looking unfathomably alluring, as rumpled as he was, stripped to his under things. Chest all but bared in the near light as the glossy fabric of his dress shirt pooled at his sides, revealing a fine trail of tawny brown hairs and a lithe, if not lightly defined torso.

"…Helen?" He murmured. Voice all sleep slurred and warm. Pliable and rich in a way only bone weary exhaustion and Nikola himself could rightly provide. – Blinking up at her, wide eyed and almost unseeing in the near light. One wide palmed, long fingered hand rubbing the sleep from his eyes as she shimmied out of her stockings and blouse without a single thought to the contrary.

..Knowing full well that he was watching her..

"Not a word Nikola." She warned, her tone gentle, but undeniably firm as she slipped under the covers after him. Trying and failing to repress a smile as she pulled the coverlet over the both of them, settling against the pillows with a tired sigh.

"Mmm.. Wouldn't dream of it my dear." He replied, stretching luxuriously under the thin covering of sheets, clearly not quite awake as he reeled her in. All deep, sleep muffled tones and overly familiar hands.

And she couldn't help but grin at that. Because even half asleep and soul worn Nikola was still Nikola. Just as irrepressible, impossible, and unpredictable as ever. – And it warmed her to know that he would be that way till the end. Regardless of when that day would come.

"Hush Nikola.." She breathed, a soft smile gracing the curve of her lips as he shifted closer, settling into her warmth with hardly a pause. Fitting into her like he'd been there all along, melting into the flare of her form like he'd been made opposite to her. - Apparently oblivious of the impossibly of it all when the arc of his hip slotted together with the curve of her own, awareness ringing across her consciousness with all the tact of providence.

So perhaps that was why she let him tug her closer, pulling her into him with a deliciously contented sounded noise. Listening to the way his breaths gradually spiraled down into that of slow, sleepy purrs, hands trailing down to rest along the flare of her hip. The action innocent yet tantalizing all at the same time. - Bold and sure.

And surprisingly, for once she was not long to follow. Drifting down into the same heady oblivion with the unfamiliar, but certainly not unwelcome feel of Nikola molded around her. The graceful length of his nose pressing into the curve of her neck as the scent of him rose around her. Gentle, passion heavy, yet still laced with the tangy salt tracks of loss and grief as sleep claimed her as well.

…They would figure this out. They always did. - They'd find a way. After all, the alternative would be too much for her bear..

A/N: – Thank you for all the support and feedback! This story is now complete. Please let me know what you think. Reviews and constructive critiquing are love!