A week had passed and Taya found herself referring to the BPRD as 'home.' The word was still completely alien to her, but she decided just being able to say it was progress in itself. It was a strange feeling, suddenly having somewhere to belong and she had a hard time adjusting to it. Every now and again she pinched herself, as childish and as strange as the thought may be, she could mistake everything happening to her as something that would happen in her dreams.

She had friends. Not like the ones she had before, the ones that would smile at you until you couldn't give them anymore, then leave you, alone and terrified. Or even sell you, she smiled to herself. That was one thing that had turned out for the best. One thing she could thank them for. Recalling the day took some effort because she had pushed it so far back into the crevices of her mind, hiding it from herself.

It was a beautiful day, there were no storm clouds bringing in the sine of bad omen, no claps of thunder warning her run. There was just her and her friends and the normal things. She wasn't exactly in the best of crowds, she admitted to herself thoughtfully. They were bikers – the bad sort, the ones that gave people wearing dark leather and riding black bikes a bad name. They were all the same, greedy and hungry for more of everything. Money, alcohol, fights. And she was one of them.

It shouldn't have surprised her really, that as soon as she let her guard down she got stabbed in the back. They beat her until she was unconscious, then tied her up with rope. She looked at her wrist. There- the marks, fait but still present seemed to sting as she relived the memory. She bit the inside of her lip to stop the pain that was now lingering there, tormenting her because of her stupidity. You're the one who trusted them, it said to her. They blindfolded her, or bagged her, she couldn't remember. But she knew it was dark, such a cruel dark that had stayed with her and made her resort to the childish fear of monsters under the bed. She can't even remember why she's so scared of it, the memory is lost to her... but whatever they did was bad enough for her own mind to keep secrets from her.

Then she had woken up and she had thought she was in a new kind of hell. Needles and machines probing her body, making readings about everything she did. She wanted to die. She didn't want to be a lab rat anymore. This went on for some time, until she was deemed safe. It was reviled to her that she was to become the government's new pet, to do as they saw fit with her. Well, that's how she saw it at the time. But as the days went on and as the fear and anger slowly subsided, her rational mind kicked in. They were offering her a new life, practically serving it up on a dish for her. A new home, a job – everything. And she accepted.

On her realise, she heard the story of how they found her. For a few months the police had been searching the area for a gang of thugs – she laughed at the word. There had been reports of a cat like creature among them. The BPRD had tracked down the gang, offering them money for the animal and, like any band of criminals, they agreed.

With a sigh, she prodded her Sugar Puffs with a spoon. For some reason, she really wasn't in the mood for breakfast anymore. Pushing her bowl away, she put her head down on the counter and let out a grown. She didn't notice Abe walk into the room. He stopped and watched her for a moment before deciding to speak,

"Taya, are you alright?" He questioned, moving towards her. Without looking up she mumbled,

"Peachy," then she proceeded to get up, empty the remainder of the cereal into the bin and wash the bowl. Still Abe watched.

"You wouldn't have to be psychic to know your lying," he said, moving towards the fridge. She sat back down on the chair and began to idly play with a strand of her long brown hair, choosing not to comment on his statement. He took something out of the fridge, then turned around, closing its door with his foot. "How long have you been down here?"

Taya counted the hours on her fingertips, then held them up to Abe childishly. "Three hours! But its only 6am!" He exclaimed.

"Had a lot on my mind," she shrugged it off, like it was nothing, then eyed the items in an attempt to change the topic. She giggled at what she saw. "Chillies and ice cream? Funny breakfast you got going on there Blue."

"There not for me," he explained quickly,"Liz has the strangest of cravings – but I'm only here to help," he chirped. "And HellBoy is still being-"

"-Lectured," she finished for him and they both smiled. She had got in the habit of doing that lately, especially with Abe. Maybe it was something to do with her ever increasing ability to read people combined with how much time they were spending together. He was teaching her all he could, even though there powers were quite different and that could lead to her getting extremely frustrated. She wasn't good with patience, but even she had to admit that there had been a lot of progress. And it had only taken a week.

She jumped out of her chair and pulled a spoon out of one draw, along with a bowl out of the cupboard above.

"It would be silly to leave without these," she grinned. Abe made an attempt to take them, even though his hands were already full, which resulted in the ice cream falling to the floor. Thankfully, the lid stayed on. Both Abe and Taya reached down to pick it up at the same time, they're heads clashing lightly. Taya began to laugh rubbing her head and Abe instantly apologized.

"Enough with the apologies!" She chuckled. He got the ice cream from the floor, then looked back at her sheepishly. She noted that his cheeks had gone a few shades darker. "Silly old fish," she said, looking away from him. "You need to know that a lot of things that happen in life are a joke – and this is one of them."

"I'll try to remember that," he said headed for the door. "Will you help me take these things to Liz?"

"It would be an honour my liege," she bowed sarcastically, earning her a smile from Abe. She followed on behind him as they headed down the corridor. She suddenly noticed how tall he was, then found herself staring at his gills as they flexed inwards and outwards, like tiny wings. She thought it was cute. Cute? She slapped herself subconsciously, when the hell did I start calling things cute??

When you met Abe, her thought answered themselves.

"Oh, shut up," she said quietly.

"Shut up? I haven't said anything?" Abe turned around. He almost looked hurt by her words.

"Er, I-I...wasn't talking to you. I was talking to myself. Sorry," she stammered. She felt her cheeks burn up. That never happened. Ever. She just hoped he hadn't been listening in on her thoughts, even though he promised he wouldn't. And, she wished he'd stop looking at her, it made her cheeks even redder! If he did notice however, he ignored it.

"Oh, I see," he said. They continued to walk. "You do realise that talking to yourself is a sign of madness? I may have to report you if you are suffering from some mental illness miss Hawkins," he joked. She brought herself into step beside him.

"I'm not suffering from a mental illness," she shot back smugly, "I'm quite enjoying it."

"Well, as long as you're having fun, it's ok by me," he gestured for her to entre Liz and Red's room. The door was slightly open and Taya could already hear the cats from inside. She walked in.

Liz was sat on the couch, her swollen belly hidden by a thick blanket.

"Hey fatty!" beamed Taya as she entered.

"Hey pussy!" retorted Liz. They both laughed. When they had first met, they had been a little weary of each other. Liz wasn't sure of having another woman on 'her turf,' and Taya sensed this straight away. But they were soon brought together by a common bond – winding up HellBoy. Even though it had only been a week, they seemed to have quite a strong bond already. Liz brought her attention to Abe,

"Your a life saver!" she praised, yanking the ice cream and the chillies away from him. Taya passed her the bowl and spoon, then turned to Abe.

"Remind me never to get pregnant," she said, watching with growing horror as Liz munched on the chillies.

"Of course," he said, agreeing with her.

For a good hour or so, Liz, Taya and Abe sat together and watched the news. Taya made a comment about how they had got the weather wrong, surprising herself with her statement. Intrigued by how she knew this, Abe began to question her and it soon resulted in a long and (In Lize's opinion,) boring convocation about Taya's powers. As she slipped off in a light slumber, she couldn't help but think to herself that they sounded so alike...perfect for each other, but not all at the same time. She smiled, then slept.

Far underground, below the people of the cities and the hum of modern life, something waited. It was impatient and hungry, angry even. Why was everything taking so long? Why couldn't we just kill? ...Stinking humans. All they do is kill. Kill everything. The thing that was waiting had what it wanted. That creature. That thing that would help it snuff out the lights in the world, cause a little chaos among the people above them. Make it dark, make them scared. Everything they did relied on electricity. They were going to take it away. Watch them panic; watch them suffer when they can't fight back. Yes, it would be fun. It would be fun.

Liz was still sleeping when Red got back. But wasn't for long. He charged in the room, cursing very agent under the sun, then headed for the fridge where he kept his bears. He brought the can to his lips, then froze, suddenly aware of six pairs of eyes watching him. He sighed, then put the can down.

"We should have never have come back!" he said after a long pause, "Those god damn pushy agents think they know what's best for everything and everyone!"

"What happened Red?" Asked Liz, struggling to her feet. Abe tried to stop her, but she shooed him away.

"Nothing, they just said I should take a break. Apparently I'm too stressed out to think clearly," he continued, smashing his rock fist into the marble counter, cracking it.

"Ooops."

Liz hugged him, and two continued to talk quietly to one and other as she whispered soothing words into the giant's ear. Taya instantly felt completely out of place at the sight of the two being...mushy. Apparently so did Abe and, both of them realising that there presence was no longer required or wanted, they made a quiet exist.

Taya found herself wondering what Red had meant when he said 'Come back.' She didn't hear anything about them leaving at any point and decided to ask Abe. When she did, she wished she could take it back. A flurry of emotions seeped off of him, so strong they hit her like a new sent. First she picked up anger, not directed at her, but it was powerful. Then, regret, total and utter regret. And finally pain, she had never felt so much of it in her life. Ever. It burned at him like the fires of hell, consumed him almost completely. And she had only just picked up on this? Why?

"Sorry!" She instantly said, the only word she could bring herself to say. He looked at her in puzzlement, then remembered her powers.

"Don't be silly, you weren't to know how a question would affect me," he fidgeted with his fingers, like he was in some sort of interrogation.

"It doesn't matter. I...I'll ask Red or something," there was a moment of quiet and she hoped – prayed – the fact she wasn't pressing for information helped a little.

"No, I'll tell you," he said. And he did. He told her everything, every last detail, even when she thought he was going to sob, he continued. He said it all, right there in the middle of the corridor. He finished and sighed. He opened his mouth to say something else, but before he could utter another word, Taya had pulled him into a warm hug. She rubbed his back affectionately, holding him as close as she dared.

"God Abe, I'm so sorry," she whispered to him. He relaxed after a few shocked moments, then gingerly placed his arms around her waist. He read her mind at the contact, by mistake, and felt utterly shocked. At that present moment, it held nothing but sadness for him – sincere hope that he would be ok. He had never felt that before. Not from a friend.

"You say sorry far too much," he smiled, relaying one of her favourite sayings to her.

"But your love for her wasn't a joke Abe. I said we can laugh at the jokes, not at love," Abe was surprised by her words, she was a rough and tumble kind of person not a – lets read a romance novel by the fire person. But that was the side of her that was shining through now. He liked it, he admitted to himself.

"Geez, get a room," laughed HellBoy as he walked past them. They parted quickly, both of them looking very guilty for some odd reason. "I'm having a shower," he called over his shoulder, like that would be of any interest to either of them. "Liz is asleep again, just to let you know." With that he disappeared around the corner, whistling a tune to himself.

"Well," said Abe, "I think I'm going to read, how about you?"

"I think I might join you in the library," she smiled at him.

It must have been only an half an hour later when the power cut happened, Taya was sat on the sofa, feet tucked under her body, engrossed in some mechanic book. Abe had been reading from his tank and every now and again he would ask her to turn the pages for him. When the lights went out, Taya screamed. It was a short, girly scream and it didn't sound like it should have come from her at all. She couldn't see anything and her mind was already forming monsters crawling towards her. Ones she couldn't see. She'd be happy if she could, because she'd know where to hit them, how many of them there were...

She stopped herself and took deep breaths, clutching her book to her chest. When that failed to calm her, she whispered into the darkness,

"Abe, where are you?" The reply came almost instantly,

"In my tank, where else?" he sounded like the power cut hadn't affected him at all, not even surprised him.

"Abe, can you come here," she screwed her eyes shut as an image flashed across her mind, "please." She finished.

"Um, certainly...but...why?"

"Please," was all she said. And then he remembered her first night here, how she'd asked to keep the light on. She was scared of the dark. How...strange. Within moments he was out of his tank, into his black swim soot. He towelled himself dry, then walked towards her. She did look scared, he thought to himself, his eyes working very well in the dark, well enough to see her green eyes searching for him – without success.

"I'm here," he said gently, almost soothingly. She reached out a hand in his direction, searching for him again. He hesitated to take it, he wasn't entirely sure why. But then he saw it quiver ever so slightly and he took it in his own, his fingers encasing hers. He read her mind then, and understood why she was so afraid, even though she didn't. He knew it was something she had locked away from herself, but he couldn't help but gasp.

"What?" She said, wide eyed. He sat beside her, letting go of her hand, but moving in close to her, so she knew he was there.

"What they did to you...You don't remember, correct?"

"No," she said, unsure of where this was going. He faced her, even though she couldn't see him.

"Would you like to?" He asked, knowing it would be hard to say, but he felt like he needed to. She considered this, but only briefly.

"No, not yet," she answered, very sure that she wasn't ready to hear what he had to say. Suddenly Abe felt like he had intruded on some of her most personal thoughts. He was quite ashamed of himself, even though really it wasn't his fault. As if to tell him she didn't mind him knowing, she found his hand again, telling him with her mind that it was ok. That she trusted him

"Thank you," he whispered to her. She shuffled closer to him when she heard a quiet tapping noise.

"It's only a water pipe," he assured her. At that moment Red crashed into the room, almost making Taya jump onto Abe's lap, instead she just clung to his arm.

"Can someone tell me what's going on?!" He yelled.

"Um, why would I know?" Asked Abe. HellBoy shrugged.

"'cos your a smarty pants?" He offered. Then he squinted at the couple, seeing how close there were. "Hey, when I said get a room..." he trailed off, leaving the suggestion to their own imaginations. Abe scoffed,

"Why don't you go and see what the agents are saying about it?" he offered, slightly annoyed at Red's childishness.

"Yeh, leave you two alone," he smirked, then turned around. The last thing Abe heard him say was, "And I just put the stupid shampoo in my stupid hair when the stupid power went off!"

Both Abe and Taya grinned. The showers were electric too.

A/N: Woo! Chapter Two!! Arn't you all so happy? *Cough* ... Well, the reason it is now in third person is because (In my opinion,) I write better like this. Buuutttt, if you think otherwize, just let me know ^^ Whatever works best :P