Chapter 7

I do not own 'Hellboy'. I only own Amelia, Levi, and Felix.

The next morning, the school day went by as per usual and when it came to the end of the day, many of Amelia's friends offered to come over as they knew that her mother's service was today and wanted to be there for her. But since they didn't know that Amelia was living at the BPRD, Amelia politely declined and told them that she would see them at the service. When they got back to the BPRD, Amelia headed to her room to change and decided to wear her long black skirt with a green dress t-shirt keeping in mind that her mother's favorite color was green. She chose to wear black flats and a light black sweater and she made sure that her 'H' pendant necklace was secure around her neck. Amelia took her time in brushing her hair as she began to remember the good times she had with her mother when she was little. She remembered when her mother would have her sit in front of the mirror as she brushed Amelia's hair and tied it up in different and sometimes wacky styles just because she could and it always made Amelia laugh. She remembered how excited she was when she first learned how to braid her own hair and her mother had praised her greatly for it. Amelia missed those days with her mother.

Amelia was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. "Come in" Amelia called as she heard her door open and she spotted Abe in the reflection of the mirror. He wore a white dress shirt with a black tie and a black coat with black pants and shoes for the service.

"We're ready to go whenever you are" Abe said and Amelia nodded.

"Uncle Abe?" Amelia asked.

"What is it, my dear?"

"Will… will you be there? You said yourself that people don't take your appearance too lightly"

Abe sighed as he walked over to Amelia and placed his hands on her shoulders, "Yes Amelia, I will be there. I can't guarantee that you will be able to see me during the service but I will definitely be there"

"Okay… I was just wondering that's all"

"I understand, Liz and Myers will be there with you as well as Levi and Hellboy offered to stay with me. Plus you will have all your other friends from school that will be there for you as well"

"I-I know" Amelia said as she lifted her hand and covered one of Abe's hands that rested on her shoulders, "it's just that… you've been our close family friend for so long, I just wanted others to know how much you cared about us. And how much you mean to mom and me. I just want people to know"

Amelia's words touched Abe and he sighed again, "Amelia, I cared about your mother very much but there's nothing I can do that will let me be there beside you. Believe me, I tried"

"I understand, uncle Abe. I guess we should go now, huh?"

Abe nodded as Amelia stood and Abe guided her out the door and closed it behind them. The drive to the cemetery was quiet as Amelia gazed out the window taking a few deep breaths to calm herself. Levi sat beside her as he reached out and took her hand and Amelia turned to him and smiled as best as she could. Felix scurried off of Levi's shoulder and crawled over to Amelia and gazed up at her as he sat on her lap. Amelia smiled as best as she could again as she picked up the little creature and held him close to her chest and Felix let her, knowing how much comfort she would need. They soon reached the cemetery and they all climbed out of the car and walked over to the cemetery gates. Felix climbed back onto Levi's shoulder as Liz, Myers, Levi, and Amelia began walking towards the cemetery. Levi took hold of Amelia's hand again, showing her that he was there for her and Amelia squeezed Levi's hand in thanks. As they neared the cemetery gates, Amelia suddenly stopped and Levi turned to her.

"Amelia, you okay?" he asked.

"Um… yeah, I just need a moment" Amelia answered, Levi nodded as he patiently waited for Amelia to gather her thoughts and courage together. Amelia took a long deep breath and closed her eyes for a short moment.

"Okay" Amelia said as she opened her eyes and Levi guided her over to the spot where the service was being held.

Two gazebos were set up for the people to sit under as rows of chairs filled the small area. A small, low stage was set up for the speaker to stand on and on the sides of the stage were bulletin boards with pictures of her mother and Amelia and any other family and friends neatly posted along the boards. Amelia scanned through the pictures, each picture telling a story about her mother. The priest arrived as the service was about to start as Amelia and the others sat in the middle front row. Everyone was told to stand as a trumpet began to softly play and Amelia could see six strong men carrying a coffin, three on each side, and Amelia's eyes began to water the moment she saw the coffin knowing that her mother lay inside it. The six men reached the gazebos as they carefully placed the coffin down in it's designated spot and everyone was told to sit down. As soon as Amelia sat down she immediately leaned forward and rested her head on her knees as the tears began to flow. She felt a gentle hand on her back and she sat up and found that the hand belonged to Liz as she handed Amelia a few Kleenex's. Amelia accepted the Kleenex as Liz kept one arm around Amelia while the other hand patted Amelia's hand. Amelia couldn't stop crying as the service continued and the priest speaker said all the words he was supposed to say and then it came to the time for open microphone where people could come up and say a few words if they wanted. A few people stood up and said a few words, shared a few memories and then Liz stood. Levi immediately took the position as comforter as Liz walked over to the stage.

"I was asked to say a few words for a friend who couldn't be here" Liz began as she pulled out a piece of paper with writing on it, "He says, 'to my dear Hannah, from the first moment I met you, I somehow knew that I would be seeing you a lot more than I thought. Most people I met never kept in touch for very long, but you continued to contact me as much as you could and I the same and it became an everlasting friendship. I love you and Amelia very much and even more now that you're gone. But not entirely. I know that you will still be with us in our hearts and especially to your daughter who is fighting a hard battle to face even as we speak. And even though you aren't here, I know that you will help her to get through this battle with her family and friends to help her as well. I say this as a loving friend and I wish there were more friendships like ours in the world'"

Liz finished with a few tears in her eyes and Amelia smiled as best as she could, knowing exactly who the letter was from. Liz stepped down from the stage as Amelia stood and hugged Liz as tight as she could and Liz did the same to her.

"Thank you" Amelia said, "thank you so much"

"Any time, sweetheart" Liz replied. They released each other as they sat back down in their seats. The service continued with a few more open microphone speakers and in the end, it was time to lower the coffin into the dug out grave. The six men came back and carefully placed the coffin on the electrical device that would lower the coffin in. Everyone was told to stand as they turned on the device and the coffin was slowly lowered into the grave and Amelia watched as the coffin disappeared out of her sight as it reached the bottom. Everyone was soon dismissed as some people left and other people came up to Amelia one by one to give her their condolences. Many of her friends came up and was told over and over to call them if she needed anything and Amelia simply said that she would, knowing that she would only call about one or two of them.

After some time, everyone finally left except for Amelia and the others and by that time, the grave was fully covered by fresh dirt and small patches of grass. Amelia walked over to her mother's new tombstone and she kneeled down in front of it as she read the tombstone.

Hannah Clarks, a beloved mother, a beloved daughter, a beloved friend. Rest in Peace.

A few more tears fell as Amelia gazed at the tombstone and she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and found that it was Levi and she covered his hand with her own. Levi turned to the sound of someone approaching and he smiled when he saw who it was. Amelia glanced over her shoulder to see Abe walking over to them as the others walked towards the cars in the parking lot. Levi took the hint as he dropped his hand from Amelia's shoulder and walked towards the others as Amelia stood.

"Now that everyone is gone, they allowed me some time to be out here with you" Abe said and Amelia didn't say anything back. She wrapped her arms around Abe and hugged him tightly and Abe did the same as he stroked her hair. They pulled away from each other after a moment and Abe kept one arm around Amelia as she leaned against him and they both gazed at her mother's tombstone.

"I heard your letter" Amelia said after a moment.

"Yes, I meant every word I said in that letter" Abe replied.

"I know you did. Thank you"

"No need to thank me, my dear. I just said what I needed to say"

Amelia smiled as she hugged Abe and he wrapped his other arm around her to hug her back.

"I'm kind of tired" Amelia said after a moment, "can we go?"

"Certainly" Abe replied, "it's very emotionally draining, situations like this"

Amelia nodded tiredly as Abe guided her out of the cemetery and to the cars in the parking lot. Amelia sat in the backseat with Levi and Abe as Myers drove and Liz sat in the front seat. Felix scurried over to Amelia and climbed onto her lap as Amelia stroked the small animal. After some time, Levi felt a weight on his shoulder and he turned and found that Amelia had fallen asleep and was resting her head on his shoulder. Levi quietly got Abe's attention and he glanced at the sleeping Amelia.

"Let her sleep" Abe said, "She's had a long, and depressing day"

Levi nodded as Abe reached out and gently stroked Amelia's tear stained cheek. The rest of the drive back to the BPRD was quiet as nobody wanted to wake Amelia.

When they arrived at the BPRD, Felix scurried quietly off of Amelia's lap and onto Levi's shoulder as Abe carefully and quietly lifted Amelia out of the car and carried her to her room with Levi following behind. Levi opened Amelia's door for Abe as he walked in and gently placed Amelia on her bed. Abe carefully and quietly removed Amelia's shoes and sweater and he placed them neatly on a nearby chair. He turned back to the sleeping Amelia and noticed the silver 'H' pendant that hung around her neck. Abe knew what the 'H' stood for as he carefully reached out and examined the pendant for a moment before carefully letting it drop back to where it was and quietly exited the room with Levi following him from behind as he shut the door.

After a few hours, Amelia woke from her nap and found that she was still dressed in the clothes she had worn to the service. She stretched and then got up to change into more comfortable clothes and decided to wear a pair of pants and a navy blue t-shirt. Amelia slipped on a pair of shoes and headed out the door to the library across the hall. Amelia opened the door and found that Abe was in his tank once again; reading four books at once and he looked up and spotted Amelia.

"Good evening, Amelia. Did you sleep well?" Abe asked.

"Yep, don't remember how I got there but at least I slept" Amelia replied as she sat down next to Abe's tank.

"You fell asleep in the car ride back and I carried you in"

"Oh, thanks uncle Abe"

"It was no trouble at all, you were quite emotionally drained it was bound to happen soon enough"

Amelia laughed a little at that fact and she was quiet for a moment. "Uncle Abe, can you… tell me how you met my mom?" Amelia asked.

"I would be glad to. I met your mother when I was on a mission to fight a small group of trolls in the area. Unfortunately, your mother was in the middle of it all somehow and I rescued her from the trolls. She was also only a few months pregnant with you at the time. After that she wanted to know who I was and she went all out in trying to find me. Your mother was one of those people who just had to know who a certain person was if it really meant something to her"

"Yeah, that's her alright" Amelia laughed and Abe continued.

"She obviously succeeded in finding me and we began to see each other more and more. Your mother always told me that if you were a boy she would have named you after me. I told her it was a bad idea as I already don't like my name as it is. When it came time for your mother to give birth we didn't have enough time to go to a hospital and you were born right in this building in our hospital ward. When your mother found out you were a girl, she was even more ecstatic to find the perfect name for you. And she chose the right name indeed"

Amelia smiled at all the information she was just told. "So that's how you became good friends, huh?" Amelia said and Abe nodded.

"The first time I held you, you were so tiny and you opened your eyes and smiled at me for the first time. I always tried to visit your mother and you as much as I could and she didn't mind in the least bit. By the time you were ten, I was forced to stop visiting because Manning thought I would bring to much attention to the BPRD and then the media would notice. When he mentioned the media I didn't want to take any chances with the media constantly bothering you and your mother because of me. And so it ended there with me giving your mother the card and telling her to call me if she needed anything no matter what it was. She chose the right time to us it"

Amelia leaned her head against the glass of Abe's tank as Abe finished his story. "Thanks for telling me, uncle Abe" Amelia said.

"It was my pleasure, Amelia"

"I guess I should go, it's getting a little late"

"If you wish"

"Goodnight, uncle Abe"

"Goodnight, my dear"

Amelia stood up and headed towards the library doors and walked out as she walked across the hall to her room. Amelia wasn't exactly tired due to her nap she had taken so she ended up sitting on her bed reading and sketching in her sketch book until she finally fell asleep a few short hours later.