Chapter Text
Since working was not on Helen’s agenda, everything else seemed to be. While she was officially banned from paperwork and other things that didn’t require her specific attention or signature, it left Helen to work in the infirmary and run tests. Otherwise, she often found herself in the library reading, taking notes of what she needed and intended to look into once she was actually able to do it. Today, she was indeed in the library reading, enjoying the serene silence that she was normally robbed of on any given day in the sanctuary.
“I come bearing finished reports from Wilhelm.”
Helen looked up from her book as Nikola entered, a stack of papers in his hand. He tossed them onto her desk with a slight look of distaste. He strode over to the couch and pressed a kiss to her forehead before falling into the cushions at her feet.
“I’m exhausted.” He muttered as Helen sat up to take a drink of tea from the tray on the coffee table, picking up another cracker covered in peanut butter to nibble at.
“What have you done today?”
“Absolutely nothing.”
Helen shook her head at him as she dusted her fingers free of crumbs and marked her page in her book. Nikola took it from her hands and examined the cover with what was likely fake interest before he set it on the coffee table next to the tea tray. Nikola pulled her legs out straight and rested them in his lap, fingers trailing along the exposed skin right up to the hem of her skirt.
“So you’ve come to annoy me?” Helen challenged and he met her gaze with a teasing smirk.
“Don’t I always? Besides, what else is there to do?”
“You could be helping Henry with updates to the EM shield, you could be helping Will with paperwork, a few things in the nursery still need to be finished, I’m in the need of more tea myself – need I go on?” Helen said with a smirk across her lips. Nikola rolled his eyes and leaned his head back, shutting his eyes for a long moment.
“I’m being lazy while I can. I’ve been told several times I’ll never get the chance again once demon spawn graces us with her presence.” Nikola murmured. Helen smiled to herself.
“That’s quite true. But you’re a vampire. It should be no problem for you.”
He pulled a face, but said nothing more. Helen grabbed her book and returned to it as the pair of them fell into silence, Nikola’s fingers tracing invisible patterns along Helen’s legs. Eventually, he grabbed several pages of the notes Helen had been taking earlier and began to flip through them. Helen stared at her book, not really reading anymore as her thoughts wandered.
Seeing Nikola as a father – it was just something her mind could not truly process yet. Surely it would kick in sooner or later, but not once had she imagined him with a child, let alone with her child. Their child. Their daughter. Helen certainly hoped he could fill the role of a father well enough. It would certainly be interesting if not somewhat challenging for Helen herself, seeing as she’d never had to contend with a father figure with Ashley. It was new to her as well – all decisions regarding their daughter would be between them. Helen wasn’t so sure she would like the idea of sharing; she’d grown far too accustomed to being a single parent, not having to share her child with anyone.
Now, she had to play nicely and share. It would take her a while to get used to letting her daughter out of her sight, however, just for the pure terror that would likely run through her. She had experienced the same thing with Ashley several times, but this time Helen had already figured out she was going to be over-protective, if not slightly neurotic. But some of the best parents were – and eventually, she could adjust. She always did.
As if the baby currently inhabiting her like a parasite could hear her thoughts about it, she kicked Helen rather hard. Helen rested her palm over the place she had kicked as she flipped a page in her book and continued to read about the historical whirlwind romance between a couple in Victorian Era London.
She was mildly concerned, however, when the minor discomfort from the baby kicking suddenly turned into a sharp pain that wrapped around her lower half like a snake, inching along to her back and wrapping around her front again. Helen frowned and sat her book down, waiting for it to subside, but it didn’t. The sharp pain continued for a long moment before it dulled. Not completely gone, just dulled down to a somewhat minor annoyance.
Nikola was watching her again, gaze somewhat suspicious as Helen sat up, hands still on her stomach. The pain was returning; Helen reached out to grab Nikola’s fingers blindly as she took a breath, praying to whatever God was listening that this pain was not what she was thinking it was. It sure as hell felt like it, though, much to her concern; but going into labor a month early was not in Helen’s plans.
“What’s the matter?” Nikola inquired, obviously sensing Helen’s distress as she developed a somewhat irregular breathing pattern, trying to get through the pain. Yes, definitely a contraction, she decided then and there. Her fingers curled tighter around Nikola’s, not caring if she happened to harm him or not.
“Seems the baby’s just as impatient as you.” Helen murmured as the pain subsided again and her gaze snapped up to him. Nikola instantly understood and jumped off the couch, helping her to stand in one fluid movement.
“Do you need me to carry you?”
“I can walk. It’s better for me to walk.” Helen replied, resting her hand on his shoulder, fingers digging in. His arm wrapped around her waist and he easily helped to support her as she began toward the door. She hadn’t felt pain like that in quite some time – vaguely, she wondered if she could take back what she said to Erica about not using pain relievers.
Another pain wrapped around her abdomen in the elevator. The contractions were already rather close together, giving Helen the sneaking suspicion that what she had thought had been minor kicks all day had actually been contractions winding their way through her. They were only just getting worse as they grew closer together, much to her dismay. Apparently she was going to be a mother (again) today.
Erica met them inside the infirmary. She had just arrived a few days ago and Helen was quite glad she had come a bit early, as it seemed her baby had gotten the same idea. With help from Nikola, they wrestled a meekly protesting Helen into one of the infirmary gowns and helped her into one of the beds. Helen’s hand did not leave Nikola’s.
“You still have a few hours at least, I’m afraid.” Erica diagnosed after checking over Helen’s and the baby’s vitals. Her head fells back into the pillows with an irritated look. “Try to distract yourself, eat, and drink fluids, Dr. Magnus. Nikola, make sure she does. I’ll be right over there if you need me.”
Erica left them alone then, giving Nikola a chance to pull up a chair with his free hand so he could sit beside Helen’s bed. She had relinquished her hold on his hand for the time being. She ground her teeth against the next contraction, wrapping her fingers within the sheets of the bed. Nikola brushed hair from her face silently, mildly unsure of what else he could do.
Together, they passed the first hour with Helen reading and drinking water that Big Guy continually kept her supplied with. She received a visit from Kate, Will, and Henry all at once, all promising to return when the baby was born. It was if they could sense that Helen was becoming a ticking time bomb.
And she was.
Her entire world was coming to an end. Her spine had been ripped out and her pelvic bone was following. Sweat rolled off her skin, making her infirmary gown and hair stick like a second layer. Breathing made her angry, the color of the wall made her angry, and the hands that kept touching her, trying to comfort her, were making her angry. A black hole could have opened up and swallowed the entire sanctuary and there was a fat chance that she wouldn’t have cared either way. But something was going to happen if someone didn’t stop her pain right now.
No, being in labor did not sit well with Helen.
Second children were always the easier, everyone had said. It wouldn’t be so bad, everyone had said. Well, that was the last time she listened to anyone - and it was the last time she ever thought about being pregnant again. Ashley had been one thing, but this demon child that she had so carefully nurtured the past several months apparently already hated her. Otherwise it wouldn’t have hurt as much as it did.
“I would hate to see how bad this would be if I’d actually carried to full term.” She muttered between gritted teeth, hand clenched so tightly around Nikola’s that it was a wonder that the man’s fingers weren’t snapped in half.
“You’ve done this before, you can do it again.” Nikola said.
“That was too long ago for me to remember.” Helen muttered as she adjusted herself the small pause between the contractions.
“But you’re a doctor. You know how this works.”
“I know that. I never said I liked the way it works.”
Erica convinced her to begin walking around, so Helen began to lap the infirmary at a slow pace. Her legs wanted to give out, but Nikola kept her steady. His hands were on her waist, drifting up to her lower back every once in a while to make soothing circles and downward motions across her skin. Whenever she stopped, she rested her head against his chest to wait for the contraction to pass.
“I’ve been shot before, but this . . . this bloody hurts.” She breathed as the most recent contraction passed and she was able to look up at him.
“I know. It’ll be over soon.” He assured.
“This thing truly is a demon.” She groaned and tightened her fingers on his again. He only chuckled and placed a kiss to the top of her forehead.
“I’m sure she’ll appreciate being called that.”
They continued their routine until Helen’s water finally broke and she could no longer stand because the pain had increased ten-fold. After changing, she fell back into bed and Erica continued to hover.
“You’re doing just fine, Dr. Magnus.” Erica said. Helen had the urge to hit her. She wasn’t doing fine – with all the pain she felt, Helen knew she had to be dying. She tried to distract herself by studying Nikola, who seemed several light-years away, a confused expression on his face.
“What’s wrong?”
“I can hear her heartbeat.” He mused, looking back at Helen. “I couldn’t before because something was interfering, but now it’s just . . .there. Clear as day.”
Helen smiled and pressed a kiss to his fingers as she held them.
More pain enveloped her soon after, so Helen was quite distracted. The pain was near unbearable now, and the contractions had grown so close together that there was no pause between.
“All right, Dr. Magnus.” Erica began, helping Helen to sit up. Nikola’s arm wrapped tight around Helen’s shoulders to help support her, his other hand clutching hers. She practically radiated panic and fear suddenly, knowing within moments she was going to be a mother again. Even with a preparation of nearly eight months, she still wasn’t sure she was completely ready. It was too late to go back on that decision now. She was surprised Nikola wasn’t more worried than he was – whether he was actually calm, or if he was appearing as such for her sake, she didn’t know.
“With the next contraction, I need you to push.” Erica ordered.
As the next pain ripped through her, Helen obeyed and put all her effort into getting the baby out of her once and for all. Her entire body ached and protested to every movement she gave, but she ignored it all. She was only vaguely aware that there were indeed others in the room with her, and she was only vaguely aware of letting out a stream of various swears in a multitude of languages.
The anger she had held before now increased as well. Nikola’s hand was her lifeline to the world as far as Helen was concerned, and it was keeping her anchored down to the bed. Both Nikola and Erica were saying things to her but their voices melded together in an unintelligible blur, and for a moment Helen thought she was going to pass out from sheer pain and exhaustion.
“If I ever mention becoming pregnant again, talk me out of it.” She muttered between clenched teeth to whichever one of them was listening. Her nails dug into Nikola’s hand and the sheets of the bed as pain rippled through her, this time centering lower on her body as if it were a ball of energy waiting to be expelled. In essence, that’s what it was, and Helen was looking forward to the moment it got the hell out of her body.
“My lucky number is three . . . .” Nikola began with a cheeky grin and she glared at him. He didn’t finish that particular thought.
“Breathe, Helen.” Nikola urged her and she felt one of his hands brush hair from her face. Helen realized she had been holding her breath and let it all out at once with a heavy sigh. Focusing on breathing and pushing and pain all at once was not something she could handle. She cursed herself, she cursed Nikola and Erica, and she cursed every individual in the sanctuary. The world was next on her list.
Something shifted, changed, and moved before it slipped free and she was left feeling exhausted, empty, and somewhat free. Her eyes flew open - when had she closed them? - and she saw Erica disappear around the corner. Had she the strength, Helen would have followed her as quickly as possible. For the moment, however, she was content with sitting more up on her own, Nikola’s hand still clutching hers. His other hand came up to pull the hair off of Helen’s sweaty and sticky neck. She was suddenly aware of how disgusting and gross she probably looked - a shower sounded wonderful in that moment.
“Look. You made it.” Nikola grinned at her and if she’d felt up to it, she probably would have attempted to hit him. Instead she tightened her grip around his fingers one last time before releasing them. He teasingly flexed them before they took up rubbing a pattern along her arm, as if it would help cool her off. His skin was cold against hers and she wanted nothing more for him to crawl into bed with her. However, Erica’s reappearance caught her attention.
“I believe this belongs to you.” She said and placed a squirming baby into Helen’s waiting arms. A warmth instantly washed over her, different from the heat that already consumed her. This one was familiar, a motherly warmth as her connection with her daughter established far more firmly than it had been before. Helen ran a gentle finger along the curve of her daughter’s cheek, tracing the jawline down. She already had a full head of hair that was black as the darkest of nights, and eyes that were a distinct shade of blue that appeared to be a natural blend of Nikola’s and her own. Her skin was still reddened, but it was already starting to turn paler in color.
“I must say, Mr. Tesla,” Helen began quietly, looking at him with a dazzling smile. “This is your greatest invention yet.”
He grinned in a cocky manner.
“I’m quite inclined to agree. Marconi can’t steal this one, either.”
Helen laughed quietly, watching as Nikola traced the path along the baby’s cheek that Helen had moved along, his hand eventually moving to one of their daughter’s, running his thumb along the tiny ridges of her ever so frail knuckles. She was small, of course, being premature, but still and acceptable weight it seemed. Either way, Erica returned a few minutes later with a clipboard and whisked the baby away again. Helen was left staring at a blank birth certificate with a pen in her hand.
“We never decided on a name.” Helen mused, looking at him.
“There was that instance where you threatened to name her Thomas Edison Tesla if I didn’t get you tea and shortbread.” Nikola replied in all seriousness. Helen shook her head.
“Be serious, Nikola.”
“I thought I was?”
“Wasn’t there any names you liked from the ones we picked?”
“I did happen to like Evelyn.”
“Evelyn it is, then.” Helen replied, signing it on the certificate. She scrawled Nicole next to it for the middle name, and Tesla for the last before she signed her own name across the bottom on the appropriate line. She handed it to Nikola for him to sign, ignoring the slight eyebrow arch she received in exchange.
“Are you okay?” He asked after he had scrawled his name at the bottom next to hers. She nodded and leaned over to kiss him briefly.
“Never better.”