A/N: Thanks again for lovely reviews. I really appreciate it.
'Muirneach' supposedly means beloved in Gaelic.
May was defeated. The first thing she did that morning was tell Liz all about the odd, beautiful man who hid in the bushes while she was walking her dog last night. Liz didn't react the way she expected. She made May repeat the man's description first to Red, then to Abe. The three collectively agreed.
"We think he's an enemy we've faced before. Prince Nuada-"
"Oh! He said his name was Nuada," May said quietly trailing off. They all stared at her like she was crazy.
"I'm calling Manning. Red, you go find the twins and put down for a nap. Abe, go inform security. May," Liz hesitated. "Go relax in the study."
And that was where Manning found her, the book she tried reading abandoned on the side table with her head in her knees fighting back tears. It wasn't her fault she was hired after they defeating the elvish prince. It wasn't her fault that the briefing agents skimmed the case when they were telling her their past engagements. It wasn't her fault she didn't recognize his name⦠was it?
"Agent Hubbard." Manning sounded less than thrilled. May shot up, and stood stick straight to her boss.
"Yes, sir," she replied, trying to keep her voice level.
"You met this man?" He held up a blurry photo of a man with pale blonde hair. It wasn't the best photo, but it was him alright. May bit her lip.
"Yes, sir," she affirmed. He sighed.
"Were you aware that we fought an elvish prince for the fate of the earth?" Manning asked dramatically. May tasted blood. She'd bitten his lip too hard.
"Yes, however-"
"Were you aware of his threat to humanity?" His voice elevated as he paced the edge of the study. He maintained his position at the top of the few stairs, lingering in the threshold. May felt the tears threatening to spill. She dealt with rejection poorly. Usually with tears.
"Yes, but-"
"No buts! You're on probation missy! Until you get your act together, you're banned from the field!" Manning fumbled with his antacid pills and popped a few in his mouth. A moment later, he tossed another in for good measure. May felt her legs shaking. Probation was possibly the worst he could do to her. When her mind wasn't occupied, she had more visions. She hated the feeling of knowing what was going to happen and not being able to stop it.
"Yes, sir." With gritted teeth, she attempted to maintain formality. It took every ounce of willpower to wait until he had shut the library door before collapsing beside the armchair. She knew she looked dramatic, her arm flung over the seat, resting her head on her arms as she sobbed into the soft fabric.
She should have known better. He looked too inhuman, why hadn't she noticed? She had been so distracted by the feeling of fullness. The empty feeling she'd felt since Iceland had finally given in and simply being around him made her feel full again. And happy. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been so happy with another person. Maybe at her BPRD induction ceremony?
May wiped her damp face and grimaced at the pool of wet fabric she'd left on her favorite chair. It would do no good to keep crying. Maybe if she worked hard in the compound, she could earn her field duty back quickly. She left the library after returning her novel to it's proper place. She had organized the library, much against Red's wishes, when she discovered the wonderful room. Now everything had a proper place, much to Abe's delight.
She rushed to her room and sank onto her bed. It was hardly midday, lunch was being served in the cafeteria, but the last thing she wanted to do was see Jackson. In the past weeks since the dissolving of their partnership, he'd begun bullying her. Pretending to accidentally spill his drinks on her, tripping her in the halls, stupid little pranks like that. And every time, he'd blame it on her, calling her a freak.
With the news of her probation sure to reach his ears quickly, she'd have to be careful to avoid him at all costs. Sure she could tell Manning about the harassment, but they'd be forced to have a formal reconciliation and that probably wouldn't do much good. So May endured it as best she could, figuring he'd get bored with her soon enough.
She buried her head under her pillows, stifling the laughter and footsteps of carefree agents passing her door. She couldn't be certain if they were laughing at her or something else, but it stung nonetheless. Lulu whined and jumped up on her low-rise bed.
"Let's take you for a walk, Lulu. Maybe I can clear my head," May said as she got her ready for a walk. Her small dog could hardly contain her excitement at the prospect of leaving the compound. May had gotten special permission to keep a Chihuahua in the compound, arguing that others could keep their German Shepherds with them. Manning relented after months of pestering.
She slipped out of the compound relatively quietly. Only the security workers saw her and approved her trip out. They kindly refrained from any snide comments, though the smirks let May know that the whole compound probably knew of her probation by now. She let Lulu lead her for a while before subtly directing her south.
May reached the park as the sun started to set. She guessed she had maybe an hour until it slipped entirely beyond the skyline. Lulu bounced around, sniffing pebbles, barking at sticks, and being a very happy dog. May led her to the bushes and peeked around, but no one was hiding, meditating, or doing yoga in them. She sighed, of course he wouldn't be so stupid to return. He couldn't have known she was an agent, but she suspected he wouldn't have returned to see her, a human, anyway.
She was even a little surprised he didn't cut her down where she stood when she interrupted him. His temper was legendary, and surely that would have set him off before. May shook her head of pale, beautiful elves and started to head back to the compound. The whole outing was stupid and she was stupid for even thinking he'd be there.
Lulu barked, startling May, and there stood a woman, nearly identical to Nuada. She had the same pale skin and hair, but her's were in a softer way, more angelic than elvish. She hesitated as she stepped up to May.
"Excuse me," she started, "have you seen a man who looks like me?" The way she said it made May think she already knew the answer, but was politely asking anyway.
"Yes, Princess Nuala," May replied. Nuala looked terrified for a split second and turned to run, but May's reflexes were quick and she caught her by the wrist. "Please don't be afraid, I work with Abe."
"Abraham? He is well?" Nuala turned back to May, her face even paler.
"Yeah, he's fine. He misses you a lot." May laughed. She'd been re-briefed on the case by Abe that afternoon, and he'd lingered on Nuala's details and avoided May's questions about their relationship. It was obvious he had fallen in love with her, and it was obvious she felt the same. Nuala's eyes twinkled with joy at the news.
"Let's go." May took the elvish princess's arm in hers and led her to the compound. They had been a block or two from the park, and May didn't want to wait around to see if Nuada showed up if Nuala was there. "Your connection is broken, isn't it?"
"Ah," Nuala exclaimed, startled, "yes, I suppose it is. I know not where he is or how he is. It saddens me, yet it also excites me. I can finally be my own person."
"There's always a bright side," May grinned, thinking of her own situation and they passed the rest of the walk in amiable silence, Lulu bouncing ahead.
"Just what the hell were you thinking-" Manning greeted the women at the gates, furiously ready to tell of May for sneaking out. His jaw dropped when she presented Nuala, and he ushered them inside quickly. He, as tactless as ever, grilled Nuala about details of her brother and made sure he would not know where their new compound was. Since the old location had been compromised one too many times, they took to a new location on the other side of the city.
"I'll be right back," May whispered to Nuala as she was being examined by a doctor who was very interested to hear about how she was reborn from the earth in Central Park. The princess looked frightened, but nodded. May wondered if she knew she was going to get Abe.
As she ran down the halls, heading towards the stairs to rush down to the library, May's vision tunneled and she fell. Her eyes shut, but images blossomed beyond her eyelids anyway slowly forming, lingering, then fading.
Nuada, holding a spear at her throat. That one would happen soon, she could tell since it was a crystal clear image. The blurrier the vision, the later it would happen. She saw Red, Liz, Abe, and Nuala eating a meal, all happy together for the first time in a long while. May getting beat up by Jackson, and Manning trying to break it up. Her vision faded to black and May thought it was over.
But blurry images flashed in front of her eyes, just as slowly as before. Hellboy fighting to control the apocalypse he never meant to bring. Liz lying lifeless at his feet. Nuala and Abe surrounded by children, Liz and Red's and their own, sobbing. And May saw herself, screaming to Hellboy with Nuada holding her oddly close.
"May? May!" She heard Liz's voice like it was through a tunnel. She blinked, the visions fading away to black. Her eyes opened fully and there were her friends surrounding her, all worried.
"What did you see?" Manning demanded, sounding less worried about her well-being and more about her visions. Red faced him with what May guessed was a menacing look, as Manning shut up immediately.
"Are you okay?" Liz helped May sit up. She had fallen, luckily, in the hall and not on the stairs. They helped her up and into the study.
"Abe," May gasped, her voice returning shakily, "Nuala. She's-"
"I know, she's here." Abe said, and May finally noticed the pale woman, hiding behind her beloved frightfully. May guessed she looked a mess.
"Visions of the future," May tried to explain. She didn't like having anyone afraid of her.
"So now you admit it," Liz chuckled as they helped her into her favorite armchair. May bit back a bitter laugh. Liz explained May to Nuala as May tried to see if the pain was more serious than an all over ache. Mostly, her visions were moments long and only caused a headache, but the longer ones seemed to take the life out of her.
For now, she'd rest and relax before trying to figure out the terrifying images she saw.
