[for Will] - timed to December 1st

[notsocommon]

After seeing John off, as it was, Helen was sort of loose ends rattling around her hut-now-house waiting on Will to get home. She sort of wanted to seek him out directly but, considering John was out there and may or may not be sane, she didn't want to take the risk of him catching her unawares.

Every little sound of the house settling had her on alert and when the door finally swung in, she called out to confirm it was actually Will before leaving her bedroom.

"Will? Is that you?"

Comments

[inabmovie]

"Yeah, of course it's me," Will called, stomping the snow off his boots and leaving them by the door. This whole Victorian-London crazy-giant-house and ridiculous-clothes business wasn't exactly his cup of tea, but if it was anything like last year, it wouldn't be forever and then they'd be back to their warm island paradise. "Anything else change while I was gone?" He half expected Roy to have turned into a little yippy dog or something. (No, the sloth was curled up on a shelf near the fireplace, basking in the warmth.)

[notsocommon]

"John's here. He just left a little while ago, I don't know how long he's been on the island, Will, but it's just since the London thing happened."

It rattled her now that he was gone and her hands started to tremble with leftover anxiety she hadn't been able to express before.

"He says some creature made him kill. I don't even know what to believe now."

[inabmovie]

"Whoa, whoa, back up. John's here? As in, John Druitt?" He felt like he was about three beats behind her, and he desperately wanted to catch up. "Here? On this island? Magnus, why the hell didn't you come get me?" He hadn't really had anything to do today, he'd just hung around the office in case anyone was seriously bothered by the sudden change of scenery. If he'd known, he would have come home right away.

[notsocommon]

"It was so sudden and I panicked," Helen admitted, the tremble in her voice a little more evident now. "I'm sorry, Will. He did give me his knives, though, so he wasn't armed and, presumably, isn't armed now. I know it's not much of a consolation considering he's a large man and knows how to fight but...it's John, you know he manipulates me and I was so unsettled by simply seeing him."

[inabmovie]

"He didn't try to hurt you, did he?" It was Will's first thought, and it was an ugly one but at the moment he didn't give a shit about anything but making sure she was okay. "Because if he did, I swear to God I'll--" Well, he didn't know exactly what he would do, but it wouldn't be nice. "Where is he now?"

[notsocommon]

"He didn't hurt me, Will, I swear. Rattled me a bit, yes, but he didn't lay a hand on me. Oddly enough, he was a perfect gentleman. He wanted me to stop him from murdering...I think he thought perhaps that he'd gone back in time and could change our timeline or something."

Helen drew closer to him. "Please just hold me for a moment? I'll tell you everything, I promise, I just...I need to calm down first."

[inabmovie]

Will couldn't see how the words Jack the Ripper and perfect gentleman could be used to describe the same person (unless it was him pretending to be a perfect gentleman so he could lure some unsuspecting girl in to go all Jack the Ripper on her), but this was Magnus talking and he knew she had a crazy blind spot where the man was concerned. "Come here," he said, folding his arms around her.

[notsocommon]

"I'm not sure why I let him affect me so," Helen murmured, grateful for Will and the hug for a moment because they grounded her. She kissed him lightly at the crook of his neck and shoulder and kept him close.

"I suppose it'll always be that way, with him. He inspires the worst kind of irrational behavior in me."

[inabmovie]

"He affects you because he was a significant part of your life," Will said, moving his hand lightly up and down her back in a soothing motion. "Of course him showing up here is going to rattle you. But you have to be careful." Will didn't know what the story was but it didn't really matter because he couldn't imagine any circumstance that would enable him to trust Druitt. Ever.

[notsocommon]

"I don't think he'll hurt me here. Too risky," Helen said, keeping close for the moment. "But that doesn't mean he won't try, or won't try to hurt you, Declan or Kate instead to hurt me. Maybe even Nikola but Nikola's crafty enough to keep himself safe, I think."

[inabmovie]

"He better not even think about it," Will said, anger suddenly flaring. He tamped it down and drew back a little, but his hands still rested on Magnus's shoulders, squeezing lightly. "Talk to me," he said. "Tell me what's going on with him."

[notsocommon]

"He wanted me to stop him from killing anyone. He thought he'd come back into the past and that there was a way to stop it all," Helen said, taking a few deep breaths to help calm herself. "When I explained it was the island, he didn't seem to quite understand but I think he'd been doing drugs or something. He wasn't himself, at any rate."

And this was the bit she hadn't wanted to share. "Apparently he's still in love with me, on top of everything."

[inabmovie]

Of course he was, Will thought, because who wouldn't be in love with her? But there was nothing Will could say to that that Magnus didn't already know a million times better than he did. "You said something about a creature that made him kill."

[notsocommon]

Helen nodded. "He said that an Abnormal latched onto him while he was teleporting and that's what made him kill. If that's the case, he should be himself again on the island since it would be nullified like my longevity and Nikola's vampire powers."

[inabmovie]

Will wasn't so sure about that. "Look, Magnus, I know you want him to be okay, that this situation is something that's been hurting you for a long time, and I respect that. But if this creature's been hitching a ride with him for over a hundred years, I would guess that there's been some serious psychiatric issues coming from that and I wouldn't be too quick to assume that he's back to his old self just because that creature's gone."

[notsocommon]

"I just want to hope for a little bit before I have to be pragmatic, is all," Helen said, sighing a bit. "That's all. I want to believe he's all right and I can have my friend back. It's hard to deny how he makes me feel, Will. He's the first person other than my father that ever loved me...it's hard to let that go."

[inabmovie]

"I know," Will said. "Really, it would seriously make me happy if he wasn't homicidal, so I'm hoping you're right. I just want you to be careful. That's all. You said yourself he manipulates you, and if he's not okay I don't want him taking advantage of your feelings to hurt you."

[notsocommon]

"I'll be careful, Will," Helen promised. She reached for his hand impulsively, twining their fingers together and rubbing where he'd have a wedding ring if they'd had rings to exchange.

"Be my emotional compass, then?"

[inabmovie]

"Of course," Will said, squeezing her hand. He meant it just as much as he'd ever meant anything in his life, maybe even more now. Druitt showing up was something he'd been dreading for his own sake but mostly for Magnus's sake, and while he didn't like it one little bit his priority was not just making sure she was physically safe but emotionally safe, as well.

[notsocommon]

"I love you," Helen murmured, drawing their joined hands up to her lips to kiss. "I'm so glad I don't have to face this alone and that even if I'm brave outside this house, I don't have to be brave with you. I need a place where I can speak about my doubts and feel safe."