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Helena's breath was cut short
with an audible gasp as she heard him speak these horrible words. Staring
into his terrified eyes for what
seemed like an eternity, she could not fully comprehend what she saw.
The horror of Henry Jekyll was obvious in his pleading gaze, but there
was
something else, something foreign, something . . . conquering. She
was frozen, his hand gripping hers a moment longer before falling limply
to his
side, startling her out of her daze. His eyelids began to flutter;
the sight of his eyes-exposing his soul to her-began to slip away.
"Henry, please . . . try and stay awake . . . Emma is-"
"Don't . . . " He whispered, his voice so weak and trembling. "Don't let her see . . ."
Helena reached up slowly, placing
a gentle hand on his pale cheek. She was terrified, not sure if he spoke
out of delirium or out of true fear,
and not knowing which would be worse. As she watched intently, his
eyes fell shut again, his mouth uttering a weak wordless moan.
"Henry? Please answer me if you
can." She spoke timidly, leaning closer to his face, kneeling at the side
of the bed so that her face would be
but inches from his own. "Henry, can you hear me? I know you can-"
Suddenly his eyes popped open,
his voice still weak and hushed but full of energy as he whisper shouted:
"Boo!" leaning in suddenly to plant
a lustful kiss on Helena's lips. She jumped back in shock, desperately
trying to escape his roaming tongue.
"You!" She panted, fighting to
recapture her breath and to sound calm despite her terror . . . he chuckled
mischievously, a sad, sick little
sound that displayed the extent of his weakness . . . "What have you
done with Henry? He was . . . I just spoke to him!" She said, standing
to get
away from the bed, terrified that he was hiding some secret reserve
of power for the right moment.
"He's . . . resting . . . " He
said, his voice even more raspy and deep then usual due to his injuries.
"It's been . . . Quite an interesting few
days . . . " He continued somewhat wearily, his head falling back against
the pillows. He lay there for several seconds in silence, Helena completely
at
a loss for words, knowing she's saved her worst enemy, but still confused
as to Dr. Jekyll's brief appearance. Hyde broke the silence moments later,
whispering to himself with a smirk: "Oh shut up, Henry . . . " At this
evidence of Henry's imprisonment, Helena began to cry, tears quietly slipping
down her cheeks. Suddenly and without warning his eyes popped open,
his body tensing. He struggled to sit up, his face a grimace of pain .
. . "You .
. . pathetic . . . bastard . . . " He wheezed, letting out a faint
moan. "You're just as weak as I, Henry . . . " Despite her horror and disgust,
Helena
started for the side of the bed, doing her best to ease him back against
the pillows.
"Henry, you can fight him . . .
" She said softly as she held him down, Hyde giving her a look of contempt
but too weak to speak, the
exhausted body shared by the two in danger of collapsing all together.
Hyde grinned through the pain, as though he almost enjoyed the suffering.
"Henry . . . wants a kiss, Helena
. . . " he said, pulling her towards him, weakly but effectively. Before
he could steal even a peck from her
lips, however, he yelled out in pain, falling back against the pillows,
eyes falling shut once again. The silence of the room was for a moment
unbearable, Hyde apparently having passed out against the pillow; Helena
let her head fall to the mattress beside his arm, beginning to weep. Never
in
her life had she been more frustrated, more ashamed then this second,
or more unsure of what to do. She had always been independent, sure of
herself
and trusting of her intuitions, but now her world had been turned upside
down, leaving her useless to Henry when he need her most. She sat there
on
the floor, not raising her head, unable to stand the look of pain that
had so recently graced those features. The features that grew more and
more foreign
with each passing transformation.
"Don't let him scare you . . .
he grows weaker with each passing moment . . . " She heard a familiar voice
whisper, still so upsettingly weak.
She remained prone, however, embarrassed to show Henry her tears, and
she soon felt a soft, gentle hand on her head, stroking her hair comfortingly.
She raised her head in humiliation, hating the fact that she could
not be stronger for him. His eyes were cloudy, so tired of his battle for
domination of
his soul, and the lids drooped precariously.
"Henry, I'm so sorry . . . I don't
know how to stop him . . . " She whispered, begging him to understand that
she had tried as hard as she
could. He smiled, reaching a trembling hand to wipe the tears from
her cheek.
"We'll find a way . . . he won't
destroy my life again . . . you . . . gave me a second chance to correct
my mistake . . . " His voice was so
hushed she found it nearly inaudible, and despite Hyde's last surprise,
she was forced to lean in closer in order to decipher his whispered thanks.
"Emma needs to see you, Henry, she has to know you're alright. She
thinks she's to blame . . . "
"She's not . . . you can tell her
I love her more then ever . . . Helena-" He paused to cough, a sick raspy
sound that caused him great pain. She
left his side quickly to retrieve a glass of water from the dresser,
but she returned to his side to find him too weak to drink. He pushed her
hand away,
eyelids drooping as though they were held down by weights. He motioned
her closer to his lips, so that she might hear his ever-weakening voice,
and
she obeyed his request. "Helena . . . tell her . . . Emma he is gone
. . . please do that for me . . . " She hesitantly shook her head. "Henry,
I can't lie to
her, she's too upset to be misguided. What if he were to return when
she-"
"No!" He managed to almost shout,
"He will never . . . I won't let him . . . please . . . " he begged a final
time before slipping back into
unconsciousness. Helena felt his hand go limp in her own, silently
thanking God that he had been spared this hell once again. Wearily she
stood,
replacing the glass on the dresser and covering his chest once again,
seeing him shiver slightly, his brow creasing in pain. This almost undetectable
movement frightening her to her very core, for she knew now that he
had not been spared at all, but that in the depths of his soul, the battle
had been
engaged once again.