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It was still fairly early in the morning, but John had been up for a while. He had beat Helen to it, for once. His wife had always been a habitual early riser, so it was a rare day that he was actually up and able to make tea for her, at the very least.
At this rate, he may be able to get a start on breakfast before she came downstairs.
As if summoned by the thought, he heard footsteps on the stairs. Helen came into the kitchen and smiled at him. She didn't say anything, just walked over to him, putting a hand on his arm, and then sliding her arms around him.
"Good morning." she murmured.
"Good morning." John returned.
Helen hung on to him for a moment.
"How long has that tea been poured?" she asked.
"Long enough that you can drink it."
"Thank you." Helen kissed his shoulder. "Ashley had a rough night. I want to let her sleep in."
John nodded as she moved away from him and wrapped her hands around the mug of tea he had waiting for her. Her head was tilted towards the window, expression dreamy. It was a rare look for her and John took the moment to appreciate it.
By nature, John Druitt was no an overly sentimental man and by no means a good one, but things had been different for quite a number of years at this point and he was learning to appreciate simple things like watching his wife in rare moments.
His bloodlust wasn't entirely dimmed, all this time later, but it was certainly managed. Enough for John to trust himself to be a husband. To be a father.
It had taken over a century for things to come full circle after the night he had proposed to Helen and John was still amazed that it had. It almost hadn't.
John chose not to linger over those thoughts for the moment. He had done unspeakable things and in the end, Helen hadn't given up on him, even when he had given up on himself.
Full circle meant a cottage near the sea in England and two children to busy their days as Helen managed the Sanctuary Network and John did what he could to help.
"I can feel you staring at me." Helen said, sipping her tea.
"I still maintain that your feeling is merely guessing." John said as he sipped his own tea.
"So you weren't?" Helen asked, tilting her head.
John said nothing. Helen chuckled, turning her eyes on him.
Her blue eyes were milky and clouded. Small white scars, like tiny freckles, scattered across her nose and cheeks.
An abnormal had done it, spitting venom in her face when she had been pursuing it through the sewers of the Fifth Ward, just over a year after Ashley had been born.
They had all blamed themselves for it, for not being there to help her. Helen had nearly died. It was a miracle that being blinded was all that had happened, truly.
Dark days had followed her survival and physical recovery.
Helen was over one hundred and thirty years old and she'd needed to suddenly relearn the world. After over one hundred and thirty years of going through life with sight, she had suddenly been blind. In a world that was not kind to the blind by normal standards. The abnormal world was even less kind.
It had been a frustrating process and John had been afraid that their recently rekindled relationship would not be able to withstand it. Helen had already been reluctant to allow him in all the way, despite the fact they had tentatively renewed their relationship and Helen had finally decided to carry their child to term.
John lost himself in those thoughts for a few momenst, during which Helen leaned across the counter and felt for his hand, taking it and squeezing it for a moment. Helen often seemed to sense his emotions were starting to go in a wrong direction.
"I was thinking we could all go into London today. James said that there's a case that...he wants you to look into."
Helen grimaced slightly as she spoke, but it was quickly masked. John knew why. They had come to an arrangement. If someone couldn't be persecuted for their crimes against abnormals and they were truly bad--Helen was the one that drew the line of what was--then the Sanctuary would....allow him to deal with it.
It wasn't the best solution, admittedly.
But some things had to be done to stop the people who murdered abnormals and experimented on them and whatever else and then...well, John wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. It was also one of the ways to manage his bloodlust.
Helen didn't condone it, exactly, but had grudgingly accepted--though had not actually said she did--that sometimes it was necessary.
Theirs may not have been a conventional life, but it was about as conventional as Jack the Ripper and an immortal woman that could most likely take over the world if she wanted to could expect to get.
"If you do want me to take it--" John started, but Helen raised a hand.
"We both know it needs to be done." she said briskly.
John knew that a part of Helen was frustrated that she couldn't take such an active role in such things. Just a few years ago, she would have been buckling on weapons and leading the charge. Now, she had deemed it beyond her capabilities.
He personally believed that she could do anything she truly put her mind too, but he wasn't one to argue too much with her on the fact. Not after everything.
John put those thoughts out of his mind and he and Helen made some small talk until there were more footsteps on the stairs. Both he and Helen turned.
Henry was coming down, looking half asleep. His hair was messy and his T-shirt was on backward.
"Henry. What are you doing up?" Helen asked.
"It's morning." the eleven year old mumbled, climbing up on to the stool beside Helen and proceeding to drape his upper body on the marble.
Helen smiled and feathered the hair on the back of Henry's head. Henry was still at the stage where he tolerated this from Helen, but John suspected that he would soon reach the point where he no longer wished for her to do things like that, even in the privacy of their home.
Henry was a bit of a challenge to John, honestly. Helen had taken him in before they had truly cemented their relationship again and the boy had been wary of him from the first. He had bonded very well with Helen's manservant and had been very resentful to leave him behind when they had moved to England, though they saw him very and there was even talk of him joining the London house.
He treated John more like a stepfather, if anything. John didn't entirely mind. He hadn't had the best relationship with his father, so he didn't expect much from Henry, though he was doing his best to contribute to the raising of the boy.
Ashley was easier, mostly because John understood her better. It probably didn't hurt that she had known him as her father from a very early age. Helen had been reluctant to allow him to have a close hand in raising Ashley at first, but after she had been blinded, John had stepped fully into the role.
Helen got up and nudged John away from where he was standing. She was going to make breakfast. She seemed to like doing it, though she hadn't had much time before everything that had happened.
The accident had given them the chance to reevaluate and change things. Maybe it wouldn't always be like this, but for now, it was what worked for them.
Helen was nearly done making breakfast when Ashely came downstairs.
Ashley was seven and a little ball of energy, despite the fact that Helen had said that she'd had a rough night. She rushed at John, most likely because he was closer, and slammed into him in a hug. John patted her on the back.
"Good morning, Ashley." he greeted.
"Good morning, Daddy!"
Ashley released him, circled around to Helen, and gave her mother the same treatment. Helen laughed and wrapped her arms around Ashley before she wiggled away.
The morning from here was normal. They got all of them fed and the children ready for the drive to London.
John could teleport, but Helen had insisted that he restrict it, since it seemed to directly correlate to his bloodlust. So, he had learned to drive, something he loathed, but he was the only one in the household that could manage it.
When they stepped outside, Helen paused as the children raced towards the car, turning her face towards the breeze. The tang of the sea was in the summer air and John slid an arm around her, pressing a kiss to the side of her neck. Helen shivered and leaned back against him with a sigh.
"You could come with me today, you know." he murmured in her ear.
Helen stiffened against him slightly, but John could feel the yearning in her. She wanted to. She wasn't one to sit back from what she had chosen as her duty. She twisted her head to look at him, her sightless eyes on his face, filled with more emotion than John had seen in quite some time. Helen dropping her barriers was rare.
"I...do not think that it would be wise."
"Then train yourself, darling. You know you can."
"I..."
Helen trailed off. John didn't push further. It would ultimately be her decision.
They only had those few moments before Henry and Ashley were shrieking at each other. Helen sighed, shaking her head, and set off across the driveway, calling a gentle reprimand as she did.
After a moment, John followed.