The rest of the week goes by in a haze. Between the museums, shopping, shows, shopping, art exhibits, and shopping, I almost manage to keep my mind off of him. We go shopping for appropriate night gowns for me that first day. I find one little item. It's made of silk and the color is a mottled blue and green, just like his skin. I try it on and look in the mirror. I wonder if he would like it. Then I don't know if I should cry because of what I did to him or die of embarrassment for even thinking about showing it to him. I'm not even sure if I'm glad when Grandmother insists on getting it and the matching robe for me as a belated birthday present.

But when I'm back in my room and there's nothing to distract me, I think of him. I hope he's eating again, that he's doing better. But some how, deep in my heart, I know he's not. I know because I'm not doing much better. Every time I see an aquarium I think of him. There are an amazing number of aquariums in Manhattan. I'd like to call him, but I have no number. I check my cell phone for the hundredth time, but Manning's number is still blocked.

Then there are the dreams. They keep getting more and more erotic. I'm not sure if I want to sleep or not. I'm embarrassed that I'm having them, but at the same time they fill up the hole in my soul where he should be. At least they do until I wake up.

Finally, we get to Saturday. I wake up from the latest dream sweating and panting and with an aching need that almost hurts. If I don't see him soon, I think I'll lose what little is left of my mind. I quickly get ready and head out with Grandmother.

We spend the next 8 hours being pampered from head to toe in the best day spa in Manhattan. At the end of our visit, our hair and make up are done by pros. My hair is done up in an elaborate style on top of my head. I have enough hair styling products on me that I think my hair could survive a hurricane. I also don't think it would be wise to get to close to any open flames.

Then I get dressed and look into the full length mirror in the dressing room. At first I think I'm staring at a stranger. Then I realize it's me. I've never thought of myself as being pretty, but I have to admit, I look good. The blue gown has green highlights, it has a slit in the skirt that goes most of the way up my thigh and it's only held up on one shoulder. The emerald and diamond choker with matching earrings and bracelet are sparkling with amazing brilliance. Ok, the shoes are going to be what make my feet sign a surrender treaty, but it's just for this one night. I wish Abe could see me, I think sadly. When my Grandmother sees me, even she is impressed.

The party is being held in a restaurant on the edge of Central Park, and we get to the party fashionably late. Grandmother and her friend go to great lengths to keep getting me and her astronaut grandson, Steven, together throughout most of the evening. He's a handsome man and he seems very nice, but my mind keeps wandering back to a certain tank with a certain merman in it.

It's nearly midnight, and I go outside to finally get some fresh air. As I shut the door, there is a feeling of "wrongness" in the air. I've barely used my powers this past week, so this catches me by surprise. I quickly sit down in a near by bench and send "myself" out to find out what's wrong. I'm not sure what it is, but it's very close by. I stand up and try to hurry in that direction, but my feet won't let me. Walking in these shoes has become torture, so I kick them off and carry them with me. The ground hurts my feet, but it's better than the shoes.

After jogging along for several minutes, I can hear yelling and gunfire. Then I hear something that makes me stop dead in my tracks. It's the sound of a small cannon going off multiple times. I break into a full out run. I come around a corner and see pandemonium.

Hellboy is standing in the middle of what looks to be what were once humans. Their flesh is badly desiccated and their clothes are rotting off of their bodies. The smell here reeks to high heaven. I guess if I was ever to put a picture with a zombie, this would be it. There seems to be hundreds of them, and every time Hellboy fires, one of them explodes. There are a few agents outside the crowd, but their bullets seem to be having no effect on the zombies. Then I hear a woman scream. I look toward the sound and finally notice that Hellboy is not alone. It's the woman that was driving the red sports car; one of the zombies has grabbed hold of her and is biting her shoulder. Hellboy turns and grabs the thing and rips it in two with his bare hands.

Then I "feel" a raw power building up. I take another look at the woman and she suddenly bursts into flame. Hellboy grabs her and holds her to him. The flames seem to have no effect on him even though the nearest zombies are starting to burn. I can see agents starting to run away. I realize almost too late that she has no control over what she's doing. Drawing my own power to me, I get ready to do damage control.

The wind picks up and begins to swirl around the zombies, starting to push them toward the center. As the fire grows the wind gets stronger. Eventually, the wind turns into a howling vortex that shoots at least a hundred feet into the sky. It's filled with the burning bodies of zombies, but the flames stay in the vortex I've created. After what seems to be a million years, the flames die down. I can see that Hellboy is still standing and holding the woman who looks to be either out cold or dead. I do a quick "check" and she's only out cold. As the last body burns out, I let go of the wind. The burnt out pieces fall to the ground.

If I thought the smell was bad before, it's nothing compared to the smell of burned rotting flesh. I put my hands over my nose and mouth to try and reduce the stench reaching me. That's when I notice I no longer have my shoes in my hands. I'm not sure when I dropped them, but as I cause the wind to take the smell away from me; I start to look around for them. I don't see them on the ground, but I do see a pair of men's shoes and they're being worn by John. He's staring at me like a deer caught in headlights and he's holding my shoes.

"Hi, John," I say. The wind has blown the stink away so I let my hands drop. I give him a small smile.

"Uh, hi," he says. "You look…amazing."

"Thank you," I respond. I can feel my cheeks warming and my smile gets a little bigger.

"There's someone who'd like to see you," he says, finally blinking.

"Please lead the way," I say.

He turns and leads me across the lawn. We walk for several minutes through the park until we reach a parking lot. There are several agents walking around and I can see Manning trying to organize things. I see a familiar garbage truck parked there with the back open. That's where John leads me. I look in the back and there's Abe. He's lying on the bench, his skin is now a pale blue and his eyes are closed. I can hear his respirator working, so it sounds like he's still breathing. I pull John off to the side of the truck.

"Has he eaten anything?" I ask him.

"No," he answers.

"Then what is he doing here?" I demand.

"Dr. Manning thought if we could get him out into the field, then he might come around and start doing his job again."

I sigh, while I think of many unpleasant things I would like to say to Manning. I head back toward the back of the truck and walk up the ramp. I kneel down next to the bench. The metal floor hurts my knees, but I ignore it.

"Abe?" I whisper. I place my hand on his arm. His skin is warm and dry and I know it's supposed to be cool and moist. "Abe, please wake up."

There's no response. I place my ear on his chest and I can hear his heart, so I know he's still alive. I can feel my own heart breaking seeing him like this and I know it's my fault.

"I'm sorry," is the only thing I can think to say. Then I get up and turn to go.

"I like your hair better down."

"What?" I say as I spin around and look down at him. His eyes are open and he's now struggling to sit up. I quickly bend over and help him up. Then I sit down next to him.

"I like your hair better down," he repeats. "It's easier to run my hands through it when it's down."

"I'll remember that," I say laughing. Then I start crying again. So much for the make up that I had on. He pulls me toward him and holds me. After a while I manage to regain my composure and we separate. He takes my face in his hands and gently wipes away my tears. The he kisses me. I've never felt anything so good in all my life. We stop at the sound of someone clearing his throat. Abe drops his hands as we turn and look toward the door to see Manning standing there. Figures.

I stand and walk out of the truck with Abe right behind me. I stand in front of Manning staring him down, he eventually looks away.

"Dr. Manning, I will be at your front gate Monday morning at 9:00 am sharp," I tell him. "Be prepared."

I go and collect my shoes from John who's standing off to the side a bit trying not to stare. I thank him and then I return to Abe.

"I'll see you Monday," I say. "Please eat something."

He smiles at me, gently kisses me and then says, "I will."

I turn to start heading back only to find my way blocked by Hellboy.

"Did you cause that wind?" he asks.

"Yes, I did," I answer.

"Thanks," he says gruffly.

"You're welcome," I say.

I leave and make my way back. I walk past the restaurant where everyone seems oblivious to what's been going on. The party's scheduled to go on for at least another couple of hours, and I'm just not interested in sticking around. I head for the parking lot and find Kirk. He drives me back to the hotel and I head up to my room. I strip and shower, and then I rummage around in the bags of purchases that are scattered around the living room. I finally find what I'm looking for. I slip on the silk night gown that Grandmother bought for me and then crawl into bed. This time, my dreams are a little less stimulating.