Helena fashioned a tight lipped smile as Lara squeezed her hand harder, in an effort to comfort her. She was a smart one, the red head, and she knew Helena was lying. She wasn't alright. Nevertheless she'd have to get over it, have to be strong in front of the rest of her team. She couldn't put them in danger by allowing them to worry about her, diverging their focus.
She was pulled out of her reverie abruptly when Xeno came up and hugged them both. Helena felt the familiar warmth of his embrace and smiled, genuinely this time. "I hope you two don't intend on frowning on day. You'll get old and wrinkly." Helena let out a small, bemused giggle at the sight of him mashing his face. "Ah...sorry if that wasn't proper..." he added, scratching the back of his head in the most adorable way.
"You're fine, with friends it's okay to act like that." Lara replied, putting her arm around him. Helena's smile grew, seeing Lara display this small amount of affection—if she could call it that. When Lara pulled away from Xeno, the girl let go of Helena's hand walking away. Helena couldn't help but smirk as Lara kept looking back to check on her.
Then her gaze wandered to Xeno, her baby. She smiled sadly, pulling him close as her eyes began to water. She wanted more than anything for him to grow up without malice, without blood thirst. As Helena wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, she buried her face in his chest. She wanted him to grow up happy, to feel that he belonged. She didn't want him to succumb to the social norms of being labelled a 'villain' just because his powers are a little abnormal. She wanted him to be kind of person she knew he was, a good person. He was spectacular, caring, and kind. And the last she wanted was for him to turn out like Dismay, all blood thirsty and vengeful—causing chaos just for the sake of chaos. Her grip on him tightened as her mind slipped, forming this horrific delusion of what Xeno would be if he turned out like that. Helena pulled her self away, grasping his arms as a tear slipped down her cheekbone.
"Xen, darling, look at me." She muttered, bring her hands up to cup his face, "Lena loves you, you know that don't you? Lena loves you so much."