AN: So first time out of the gate with a Sanctuary fic. The heavy emotional ending of this really rather fun episode left me wondering about what was really going on with Magnus. That took me off on this tangent with my muse using Will's anger as a gateway to one possible thing that might have been going on. Please bear in mind when I wrote this I had no idea where the show was going next and was a little worried that the writers were making Magnus too cold and detached...too far removed from the woman we first met on screen. So this is just one possible scenario my muse came up with to explain what was going on...please don't take it too seriously or accurately, I am new to writing these characters so they are far from perfect.

Disclaimer etc do apply as per usual... :) Only a slight edit done, may yet be subject to some changes.

Summary: S4 post 'Fugue'. Will is still furious with Magnus for performing surgery on Abby. Henry is his go to guy, but what impact will his rash hurtful words have on Henry and on the person outside the door who he never initially intended to hear them? My 1st Sanctuary FF. Angst/Friendship

FOR THE SAKE OF ALL THAT REMAINS HUMAN.

Will slammed his fist onto the desk in Henry's lab, making his computer equipment quiver. Rage boiled inside him, as it had been doing a lot lately. "You just don't get it Henry!"

Henry did not want to continue this conversation and reached out to stabilise the expensive monitor instead of answering his angry friend. He knew what Will was like when he was this aggravated and it was never good. The man was always too cutting when it came to this kind of stuff and right now he was about to rip Magnus to shreds and Henry did not want to be the one who was his sounding board. But what real choice did he have? He owed Will...he had locked him up, without question on Magnus's orders and Will would be slow to forgive him for that, so he conceded, wanting nothing more than to bring his friend back on-side. "Get what?" he asked quietly.

"There's nothing left of her." Will whispered heavily.

The hap hackles rose within him, he shut them down instantly. "What do you mean?" he enquired, hoping for once that his instincts were wrong and this conversation was not headed where he thought it was.

Will sighed, he would have to be careful how he phrased this, he did not want to upset his friend...despite the fact that he was still oh so very mad at him too. "It's been too long, Henry." he said quietly. "Sometimes I honestly think that there is nothing left."

"Nothing of what?"

Will looked up at his friend. "I mean she has lost her humanity. I don't mean any offence to you by that but Magnus? Maybe over two hundred years is too long for anyone to be alive?"

Henry did not know what to do with that. "So what are you saying Will?"

Will jumped track a little. "That procedure, you went along with it." Their eyes locked. "And...I don't blame you. I know you are loyal, it's in your nature." Again Will paused, he hoped Henry would not misinterpret that last statement. He was loyal because he knew and trusted Magnus, not because he had elements of canine in his DNA. "But it never should have happened."

"She thought it was for the best." Henry automatically defended.

Will let out a short derisive laugh and turned from where he had paced the length of the floor. "Best for whom?" he asked.

Henry did not know what he meant. "For everyone of course."

Will stopped, now back at the table and tapped his fingers on the wood. "It wasn't best for Abby." Slowly he watched the cautious tilt of the head of the only other person in the room. "What was best for Abby was start the procedure and then remove the temporary host almost immediately."

"But the parasite, it needed time to adapt."

"No Henry, it didn't!" Will pointing his finger directly at him to highlight his point. "To save Abby and only Abby the parasite just needed to jump host."

Henry shook his head, surely Will was not saying what he thought he was, he listened intently to the words that came next.

"She did not need to do that. She did not need to risk Abby's life like that."

"Maybe she wanted to be absolutely sure." Henry knew he was grasping at straws.

Will turned slightly and sagged against the desk. "No, Henry. It was there in the data she gave me. I'll give her that, she was totally upfront...but she did not need to wait...the only reason she did that was to preserve the life of the new abnormal." He let his words hang in the air. Henry needed to know the truth.

"That's..." Henry shook off the wild feeling rising within him. "That's not the impression I got." If that was what Will truly thought then it was no wonder he had been so upset when he had been locked up.

Will face twisted into something bitter. "Yeah I know...she needed you to believe what she was doing was right..."

Henry was instantly angry. Will's tone was so scathing that he could not help it. "Yeah well turns out she was." he growled. "Magnus would never do anything like that unless she was sure. Will, she would never risk one life over another."

"Bullshit, Henry!"

"What?"

It hurt him to say this but he had to. "We risk lives all the time to 'collect' abnormals." He made air quotes. "We have always done that. Sure we try to minimise the damage but at the end of the year, when you count it up there is always a pretty high body count associated with our work...associated with Magnus's orders."

"But...that's to be expected."

"Yeah well normally I would agree with you but I went and looked it up." Will felt his gut churn. "Since I joined and not including the Hollow Earth disaster and the air strikes, in 87% of the cases the casualties were all human."

Henry twitched, the hap pulsing through him, closer to the surface than he would like. "Spit it out Will, you've got a point so just make it." he demanded, his voice pitching low. He never did like evasion and he was glad that was something he and Erica shared.

"I think..." He turned away. "I think she has forgotten the value of human life...I think...she values the lives of abnormals over everything else."

"No Will, don't say that. It's not true."

"Isn't it?" Will shook his head. "So you tell me what happened in there today, huh? Why did she go so far?" Henry could only shrug, how was he supposed to know that. Will dragged his eyes to the ceiling before he answered for him. "You can't because you weren't there...you didn't see the gleam in her eye when she spoke of the new abnormal...of discovering a new life-form and proving her father's theory correct." Suddenly he was pacing again, a physical hurt rising up through him as the reality of his own words hit home. "It came first, Henry. The abnormal came first."

Henry could not, no he would not believe that. "No...she would never do that. She knows how much Abby means to you, she would never intentionally-"

"But that is exactly what she did, Henry!" Will spun on his friend. "There was only one abnormal. A one of it's kind and it just happened to be in a human host. So what if the human died? There's plenty more where they came from right?" Will felt absolute rage coursing through him, taking away his rationality. "It didn't matter to her that that particular human just happened to be my girlfriend. It would have just been another 'regrettable incident'." He mimicked her accent.

Henry could not speak, never had he heard Will speak of Magnus in this way. It just sounded so wrong. Will had always been so loyal. Why now was he suddenly turning on her and to a level that spoke almost of betraying her.

Will tried hard to calm himself, he needed Henry to recognise that this was not just his anger talking, that he actually believed what he was saying. "The bottom line here is that the human was expendable and the abnormal was not...she chose that thing over the life of the person I love most in the world."

"How can you be so sure, Will?" Henry's voice shook as he spoke. His friend was rarely ever wrong when he was this certain and he needed to know why.

"Because she had me locked up. If she had not been so sure what she was doing was not the only choice and that you guys would eventually listen to my reasoning she never would have tried to eliminate me from the picture...especially not when she had given me the evidence that I needed to prove her wrong."

Henry took the bare-faced logic hard, but only because it resonated deep within him and made a sort of grim sense...but still he did not want to believe it. "Will." he begged, trying hard to get his friend to change his mind and say that he was mistaken.

"And it's not the first time, Henry. Think back to the last time we encountered a one-off. How many human lives were sacrificed then?"

"Sacrificed? They weren't sacrificed...we are fighting a war Will." Henry tried to reason.

"Against who and at what cost? Ever since Magnus got back...before that even. Ever since Adam Worth came back into her life, Magnus has been more blood thirsty than I've ever known her. 'Protect the abnormal community at any cost.' That's what she told us at our last team meeting. But what about the human community? Doesn't that need protecting too? Where did that mandate go?"

"But it was humans that started this, Will."

"Was it?"

"Well..." Henry stopped to think about that one.

"It's all very easy for you guys to blame us."

Henry was incensed by that. "What do you mean 'you guys'?"

"I mean abnormals, Henry. I'm human, not abnormal and therefore I am on the wrong side of this even though we are all supposed to be on the same team."

"But-"

"And don't try to tell me that it doesn't make a difference, because it does. You, the Big Guy, Druitt...all but three of the Sanctuary heads, hell even Tesla thinks the same way, albeit more egocentrically, but my point is...I'm the only unaltered human left around here."

"Will...you've always been the only human."

"No. Not true. When I first came here you were still human, you knew the change was coming but you thought and felt and acted just like I did. Then there was Ashley and Kate obviously."

"Declan." Henry tried.

"Roles over at every turn. A brilliant mind but Magnus's loyal little lapdog. Her safety net."

"He trusted you when you were in charge."

"No, he trusted Magnus and her assertion that I was the man for the job. He never trusted me because he never had to, he knew that when it came to the bit, under those particular circumstances I would rule in her stead, following her words and her wishes. And I'm pretty much sure she was the one that convinced him of that...and me!" he laughed. It was once again a bitter disillusioned sound.

"But Magnus herself is essentially still human." Henry argued, still not ready to concede to Will's point of view.

Will snorted and shook his head. "Five lifetimes she has put into this place. That does not sound very human to me." He slumped down into the chair that was beside him. "Maybe in the beginning she was able to keep it all in perspective, but now?" The anger was back and burning through him in the form of deep-seated indignation. "Now she thinks she is better than all of us, she is devious and manipulative. She has always had the ability to hide the truth from anyone she chooses and I understand that she feels the need to protect herself...but lately..." He paused looking around the room, something was playing on the edges of his senses, he felt like they were being watched. He shrugged, he had started so he would finish. "Lately, three-quarters of who she is...of the little we have ever known of her has been in hidden in the shadows and it scares me, Henry. Lately I've been wondering if either she is hiding something way bigger than she feels we could ever know about or that she thinks she is quite simply untouchable. Maybe she feels like she has lived through it all, experienced all there is to experience and therefore that her opinion must be the right one because she always knows best. But she doesn't always know best Henry...she doesn't" Once again Will glanced around, his focus falling on that of the open doorway this time. He rose from his seat to follow his hunch, he was certain there was someone lurking there. "And I'm afraid...if that arrogance can't be curbed in her...if she is truly willing to disregard all of the advice of her closest confidants then she's going to lead us down a very negative path. One that will get each of us picked off one by one."

Henry could not listen to this any more. What Will was saying was straying into the ridiculous. "God Will, you make her sound like a mad woman hell bent on global domination! Or like she's developed some kind of maniacal personality disorder like Druitt...or even worse...Tesla!"

"Yes Henry, that's exactly what I'm afraid of." Will once again held his friend's eye. "Helen Magnus is a very powerful woman, probably one of the most powerful on Earth and she knows it." He headed for the door. "And I don't know if it was her hundred and thirteen years of supposed Zen Buddhism followed by a very violent return to our work here that caused the split from her older ideals, but there has been one."

"But Will..." Henry had no idea what he was going to say.

Will sighed and held out a finger to silence Henry. After a moment's hesitation stepped over to the entrance of the door and looked into the face of the woman who was the topic of conversation. He had realised quite quickly it was Magnus that was standing listening to them, anyone else would have weighed in to defend her by now. He continued to speak as though he was addressing Henry but all the time held her eye. "And I hope it's not to late for her to see reason and look back to the wisdom of humility." His attention switched wholly to her. "Because Magnus if you don't...I honestly don't know if I can trust you enough to do this any more." He watched as she wrapped her arms around herself, defensive, unwilling to hear him, he pressed on. "A half an hour ago you called me a 'brave soldier'. But that's not what I am. I'm human Magnus, like you once were, like Abby is. And I can't allow you to sacrifice me because there are more of my kind. Humanity is your legacy and you have an obligation to protect us too."

Magnus felt Will's words slice through her, what he was saying striking deep. She cleared her voice so as to attempt to stop the words catching in her throat. "Our mandate...'To protect the two dominant species of Earth from one another'. I know what it is Will...I have not forgotten." but she had spoken quietly, her voice a lot more fragile than she had intended it to be...a lot more human than she had heard herself sound in a long time.

"Haven't you...you sure about that?" Will bit out harshly, determined to drive his point home before he walked away.

At the end of the corridor he turned back, she was still standing there, her back turned and that absolute stillness was the sign that he recognised...something from before. He realised now that he had just deeply hurt her. "Magnus..." he offered, despite his rage he still respected her...how could he not? "It's not too late...It's never too late. You just have to be honest...you can get it back." Still she did not move. Glad for that he left them to it.

"Can I?" Magnus asked aloud, speaking only to herself. "Can I get it back? Somehow I'm not so sure." She knew from experience how fragile the human psyche was and how easily it could be lost deep within, she had seen it many, many times.

Not wanting to think too much about having to face the gaping void that she was now aware of inside her she turned to her ever faithful Henry who was looking beyond shook up by everything that had just happened. "Henry?" she asked and then stopped short. The moment she spoke her young friend's name she knew Will was right. "What have I become?" she asked without intending too. She should not burden him with this.

Instantly attuned to her heightened spike of distress Henry came to stand by her, his arms on her shoulders, comforting her. "It's okay Magnus, Will is just angry. We'll figure this out, we always do."

A wry smile passed over Helen's lips. "You know that's pretty much exactly what I told Will...right before I prioritised that abnormal over his girlfriend's life." The admission came hard but to his credit Henry did not even so much as waver. He truly was a good and loyal friend. She did not deserve to have him, or any of these good people in her life. What she had done to Abby had been the correct course of action but she had taken it way too far. She sighed the same was true when it came to Erica. The safest course of action would have been to terminate the pregnancy, but she had not even mentioned that, had not even given them the option. Instead she had made overly confident assurances that boosted their trust in her and played into her own personal agenda of furthering the hap population...god she really had turned into Tesla! Not to the same level obviously as the risks were reasonably small that Erica would come to harm but there was still the massive complications to be expected in and around the birth that she had deliberately chosen not to disclosed to them...as she should have done. Guilt swirled around inside her causing her to drop her vision to the floor and sigh deeply. "I'm so sorry, Henry." she whispered and did something reasonably uncharacteristic, she stepped closer to him.

Henry did not hesitate and pulled her tight, into the brief hug she was asking for. At this range he got a real sense her turmoil, she was really punishing herself. "Oh Magnus, don't." he soothed. "We are all allowed to make mistakes, even you."

"But at what cost, Henry? I can't undo what I have started and the price will be high...make no mistake." She could say no more than that and pulled away from him. She needed to begin to get a grip, privacy was what she needed to deal with this. Ironically she needed more time to think!

Henry did not let her go straight away, first he waited until she made eye-contact. "Magnus...we got your back, not just me, all of us...no matter what."

"Thank you, Henry." she told him, her usual air of strength returning swiftly as she push aside the fact that before the very end Henry's words may not turn out to be true. "Now..."

Suddenly she was all business and Henry started, disturbed by the sudden change in her demeanour.

"Mr Foss, I was on my way here to get you to explain these outlandish expenditures..."

"What...what expenditures?" He stepped quickly aside as Magnus brushed passed him and brought up an inventory list on screen. "No-o...not me..." he stated slowly as he scanned the list.

"Nickola!" Magnus declared and turned on her heel. As she crossed the threshold she briefly closed her eyes and force out a long calming breath. Today had been a wake up call. Eventually she would have to get round to thanking Will for that...

END

AN: And so my first Sanctuary FF down...I found it a lot harder than I thought I would and I think the characters are just a little off, so please let me know what you think...