2.

Kate Corrigan maneuvered the rented Lumina into a tight parking place, craning her neck to see. "This thing is a bus," she commented.

Hellboy sat in the passenger seat behind her, his legs stretched out diagonally so that his feet were nearly in the front passenger seat - the reason they had rented the minivan. "Buses are good. That's why they keep making them. Hey, how did this nurse know to call us?" he asked.

"She read my book," said Kate. "Plus I think she might be a fan of yours."

"Hmm," grunted Hellboy. "Perceptive woman." Kate shot him a look as they climbed out of the minivan. "I mean, she bought your book, right?"

"Probably got it at the library" said Kate. "I don't think anyone has actually bought it."

"Abe did," said Hellboy. There was a silence from Kate. "I looked at Abe's," he explained sheepishly. "Oh, hang on." He took off his holstered pistol and put it back in the van, wedging it under the seat. He moved an empty Arby's bag to occlude it from view. "No guns in the copshop. OK, lets go."

They walked into the jail and met Ms. Kinney, the head labor and delivery nurse who had called Kate about a problem with one of their nurses. "Hello Ms. Corrigan... hello Hellboy." She gave the world's foremost paranormal investigator a shy smile. "I'm so glad you could come. I hope this doesn't turn out to be a false alarm,"

Kate shook her head. "No, I think your instincts were good." A policeman came over to accompany them to the cell where the nurse in question was being held.

As they walked, Ms. Kinney told them the rest of the story. "So you know, this is really the first incident of any sort with her. Nurse Elg has had a perfect record - perfect attendance, no sick days, no complaints - almost too good. Plus she has worked for us 23 years. Then one of the orderlies caught her rubbing something on a newborn - some sort of ritual." She handed a small jar to Kate, who opened it and took a sniff. "The lab says its butter."

"Smells like butter," said Kate.

"Buttered babies," grunted Hellboy with a frown.

Kate passed the butter over to Hellboy. "Did Nurse Elg have any special duties? Anything else set her apart?

Ms. Kinney bit her lip, thinking, then shook her head. "No, standard L&D stuff. She was very good. She would do some training of new hires - her seniority, you know. Oh, she would take care of the fingernails on the newborns. Really she was the only one who did, since she worked just about every day. We would call her just for that, even if it wasn't her assignment. Those nails are really sharp when they come out, and the babies scratch themselves."

"Baby fingernail clipper," said Hellboy.

"Actually," said Ms. Kinney, "the newborns are too little for a clipper. She would bite the fingernails off."

"Baby fingernail biter," said Hellboy, looking over at Kate. "That's more interesting."

They stopped in front of an interrogation room and the officer with them unlocked the door. Inside, Nurse Elg sat nervously behind a table. Hellboy and Kate looked at her. It was obvious that she was not human. She was sitting boosted up on two phone books, all of four feet tall, with wide set violet eyes, olive skin, and pointed ears peeking out from her pulled-back hair. Kate looked questioningly at Ms. Kinney, who shrugged. "She told us she was Albanian," she explained. "They're short over there. Plus she has an accent."

Nurse Elg gasped at Hellboy's entrance, shrinking away from him in fear. Hellboy held up his left hand – the small one. "We're not going to hurt you."

Kate regarded Elg appraisingly. " You're a fairie, right? A Zana?"

Elg's eyes darted between them, then a quick nod. "Knew it!" said Ms. Kinney under her breath.

Hellboy looked at a chair, then circled the table and crouched down next to Elg, his head lower than hers. "I heard something about butter. Baby butter."

"I meant her no harm," blurted the fairie. "It was to protect her!"

"Protect her against what?" asked Kate.

"The bite of a wild beast," answered Elg, looking away.

"The bite of a wild beast?" said Kate. "What use is that?"

"Spoken like one who doesn't get bitten much," said Hellboy.

"Its just that it seems like a strange thing to protect a baby from. What wild beasts would get into a hospital nursery?"

"She would have been protected for thirty-three years against the bite of a wild beast," said Elg, earnestly. "It was what I saw she might need."

"That sounds great to me," said Hellboy. He produced the jar of butter from his coat and looked it over. "This butter does the trick?"

Elg scowled at him. "You are too big."

Hellboy put the butter on the table, nodding in resignation. "I figured it would be something."

"And too old."

"Yep, got it. Beasts are gonna bite me."

Kate slid the jar of butter across the table to Elg, who grabbed it and clutched it possessively. "Do you give protection to each of the babies you care for?"

The fairy shook her head. "Not all," she said. "Only when it is in my power, and I can see the need. One I protect from being sickened by a bad fish. One I protect from having her sight blocked by her flying hair. One I charmed so his heel would not slip on a snowy hill. One I protect from his coat catching on a thorn."

Hellboy muttered "Biting beast vaccine has trump in that bunch, I think."

Kate looked at the fairy. Of course one could never know for sure, but she seemed sincere. She looked closer. There was something else. "Elg... are you expecting?"

Hellboy sat up. "Kate, she's a fairy."

Elg wrapped her arms around her belly. "Yes." She was quiet, and then her face crumpled. "But now he will never be born," she sobbed.

Hellboy looked at Elg then at Kate, taken aback. "Kate, I thought that fairies couldn't – I mean that's why they steal…" He looked over at Ms. Kinney and cut the comment short.

Kate leaned closer to Elg. "The fingernails. That's why you eat the fingernails."

The fairy nodded sorrowfully. "Yes. And in exchange I gave the little ones protection, when I could. And I was so close. And now I will never have enough."

"Enough...fingernails." Hellboy slid back in his chair. "Well, I don't know about that," said Hellboy. "Seems to me that you're a fine nurse. Good attendance, protecting against beast bites, all of it." He turned to Kate, then to Ms. Kinney. "Seems like this was just a misunderstanding. I don't know why she shouldn't go back to work."

Kate looked at Hellboy. "That makes sense to me,"

Nurse Kinney stood up. "Lets talk outside."

Out in the hall it was clear that Nurse Kinney was not at all keen about having Elg return to work. She pursed her lips. "Have that … thing come back to work as a nurse? I don't think so!"

"Things aren't always as they appear," said Hellboy. His tail tapped Ms. Kinney's shoe, making her jump. "You can't judge a book by its cover. Look at me." He smiled a somewhat fearsome smile at her. Kate winced, but it seemed to have done the trick with Ms. Kinney. She smiled back at the Worlds Foremost Paranormal Detective.

"I've got an idea," said Kate. "You write her a good letter of recommendation. She can go to work somewhere else. A good nurse can always get hired. We'll keep an eye on her. You can chalk this whole thing up to cultural differences."

Miss Kinney nodded slowly. "Really, she is a good nurse. And fairies can be good, right?"

"Sure they can," said Kate. "Just like people - they come in all kinds. But generally they play by the rules."

"Fairy rules," said Hellboy under his breath.

"Let me talk to the police," said Ms. Kinney. "I'll come up with something. I'll write the letter, just as you say. Probably she'll need to go to a new city - she's been with us so long that if she just moves across town the union will have questions."

"We can help with that too," said Kate.

As they parted at the front of the police station, Miss Kinney put a hand on Hellboy's arm. "I'm glad everything worked out. And I am so thrilled I got to meet you. Your life must be so exciting. Can you tell me what it's like to fight monsters?"

Hellboy nodded sagely. "It's a lot like not fighting monsters. But it hurts more." He gave her a wink.

Ms. Kinney beamed. "Real quick, I wonder if you would give me an autograph?" She produced a back issue of Parade magazine from her purse, the one from 1994 with Hellboy on the cover. Hellboy rummaged around in his coat and found a black Magic Marker. "BE SAFE – HELLBOY".

On the way to the Lumina Kate smirked at Hellboy. "I think she liked you,"

"Which one?" asked Hellboy.

Kate threw him a shoulder, caroming off the red giant without evident effect. "Kinney you dope!"

"Of course she did. I'm a charmer."

Elg the fairy nurse came running out into the parking lot. She was surprisingly fast despite her very short legs. "Wait! Wait!" Kate and Hellboy stopped. "I am so grateful to you. Because of you my child will be born. I want to give you something in thanks."

"Beast bite butter?" asked Hellboy hopefully.

The fairy shook her head. "I can see things that have not yet come to pass. I can show you something of your future."

Hellboy shook his head, but before he could speak Kate put a hand on him. Elg wanted so badly to give something to them it was palpable. "Show us," said Kate.

Hellboy rolled his eyes. "Here we go...", he muttered.

Elg nodded happily. She took a pack of Lucky Strikes out of her purse, lit one, and inhaled the entire thing with one long drag, producing raised eyebrows from Kate and Hellboy. Then she blew the smoke at them slowly. As the cloud moved towards them, Kate and Hellboy could see figures moving within it. The cloud grew and it became clear that one of the figures was Hellboy. But he was white. "What is that white stuff?" asked Kate as the smoke enveloped her.

"I look like a mime, "said Hellboy.

Hellboy was fighting, slapping men aside with his stone hand. The men were in uniform. American army uniforms. By his side was Kate. She was drenched in blood, and carrying a severed human head. As the smoke began to dissipate, a pack of monsters surged past Hellboy and fell upon the soldiers. Then the vision ended.

Kate stood, stunned. Elg smiled at them hopefully. "Thanks," said Hellboy curtly. "That was great." Elg gave Kate and Hellboy each a hug, then scampered off to her car. It was an enormous white Dodge Aurora.

Kate seemed shellshocked. "I was carrying a head."

"Will be carrying a head," corrected Hellboy. He watched the Aurora drive past. "Nice ride. She must have the pedals built up in that thing."

Kate still stared at the place the smoke cloud had been. "I was covered in blood."

"Yeah," said Hellboy. "But as visions go, I was ready for worse. So Kate: from now on, you see a head, leave it alone. Don't pick it up. Easy. And I won't slap around soldiers or do any mime." He squinted at his pager. "Hey, Abe paged me with something. You got that mobile phone?"