The alarm goes off at exactly 6:00 am, but I'm already up and dressed. All of my family knows that once I'm down on the ranch that I'm usually to busy to talk, so the calls started coming in about 5:00 this morning. It seems Grandmother has been very busy telling everyone about the wedding, and they all seem to be calling me to congratulate me. It also seems that Grandmother didn't skimp on any of the details either. It doesn't help that I was up late catching up on work.

"So what were you doing out at 3:00 in the morning, young lady?" Aunt Stephanie demands. Never mind that she lives in California and that's exactly what time it is there right now.

"I'm a grown woman, Aunt Stephanie," I tell her. "I can stay out late now."

"I know that, it's just what were you doing kissing a man you barely knew?" she asks.

"Love will make you do crazy things," I answer. "I really do need to go now, Aunt Stephanie. It was really good to hear from you."

"Well, alright dear. Congratulations again. I'll see you at the bridal shower."

"Thank you. Give my love to Uncle John. Bye."

I hang up and head for the door before the phone can ring again. But it rings just as I'm shutting the front door. I firmly close the door behind me and head down the hill. Some very smart person invented the answering machine, and I have nothing but nice words for that person right now. I'm sure I'll have a couple dozen messages by the time I get back up the hill, but it's better than having my ears talked off.

I head down the hill and spend the next hour and a half keeping busy. At around 7:30 I head back up the hill to get ready to go to the BPRD. The thought of seeing Abe again makes my stomach feel like I've swallowed a swarm of butterflies. I dress in slacks, a blouse and a nice comfortable pair of dress boots that I picked up in New York. What a concept. Dress shoes that don't kill your feet.

I put on some make up and then brush my hair out of its braid before tying back with a ribbon. I haven't forgotten what Abe said about my hair. Eventually, I'm ready and I head out to the garage. As soon as I'm in my Jaguar, I open the garage door and then start the engine. The car purrs to life and I pull out and head for the gate.

At exactly 9:00, I pull up to the front gate of the BPRD. I push a call button and announce who I am and who I'm here to see when asked by the gentleman on the other end. A moment later the gate opens and I pull through. I park in a guest parking spot, which kind of surprises me they would even have any of these, and head into the lobby. I walk toward the desk at the end of a long lobby.

"Stop," says the guard behind the desk.

I do as I'm told.

"Watch your arms," he says.

Before I can ask him what he means, the floor beneath me starts to move downward. I look down and realize that I'm standing on a platform and on it is engraved a giant emblem. It takes me a moment to figure out that it's a hand clutching the handle of a sword. A few moments later, the platform stops in front of a pair of gold doors. I go through and find that I'm in the library again. Hellboy and the black haired woman are here and Abe is in his tank. Abe seems to be teasing Hellboy about something. The woman is trying to hide her smile behind her hand and Hellboy is so close to the glass of Abe's tank that his breath is fogging it up.

"Listen, Fish Face," Hellboy growls. "At least what I eat can't be classified as garbage."

"Have you really checked the ingredients of those hot dogs you just ate?" asks Abe. He's floating upside down in front of Hellboy. He seems to be enjoying getting Hellboy riled. He's also a much healthier blue than he was the last time I saw him.

Before Hellboy can respond, I step a little farther into the room. Abe spots me and immediately swims as close as he can to me.

"Hello, Maggie," he says.

"Hello, Abe," I say, smiling. I turn to the others. "Hello, Hellboy." Hellboy nods at me, he's still scowling. I hold my hand out to the woman and take a step toward her, "Hello, I'm Margaret Cavendish."

"Hi, I'm Liz," she answers shyly. She gently takes my hand and gives a gentle shake before letting go. Something clicks in my head. I turn to Abe.

"Is this the Liz whose name you said after you kissed me?" I ask him. There's silence for a moment.

"You kissed her and then said another woman's name!?" Hellboy says gleefully. "Damn that's a good one, Abe."

I can see Abe turn a darker shade of blue and slowly sink out of sight as Hellboy starts laughing.

"He didn't really say my name after he kissed you, did he?" Liz asks. Her eyes are a clear blue.

I nod. Hellboy is still snickering.

"How's your shoulder?" I ask Liz.

"It's fine, thanks," she says. "I'm a bit bruised, but nothing's broken."

"I'm glad to hear that," I tell her. John walks in.

"Hi," he says. "Dr. Manning is waiting to see you."

"Thank you, John," I say. "It was nice meeting you, Liz."

I start to cross the room, but before I leave, I turn to Hellboy. "Try not to tease him too badly."

"Sure thing," he lies.

I just shake my head as I walk out the door following John. A short time later I'm shown Manning's office. Manning is sitting behind his desk when I come in. He stands, comes around the desk and extends his hand. I take the offered hand with more confidence this time.

"Miss Cavendish," he says, "welcome back to the BPRD. Please, have a seat."

He indicates to one of the chairs in front of his desk. I take one of the offered seats while he retakes his seat and looks at me.

"Is there anything you would like? Coffee? Tea?"

"No, thank you," I say. "Dr. Manning there a few things that I would like to discuss with you. The first is Liz."

"Ah, yes, Miss Sherman," he says. "What would you like to know?"

"Tell me about her."

I listen as he tells me about Elizabeth Ann Sherman. At age 11 her pyrokenetic powers manifested, resulting in a fire that leveled one city block. 32 people died, including her parents and her brother. After he finishes, I sit and think about what he's just told me.

"Were the parents that died her biological parents?" I ask him.

"Yes," he answers. He's a bit confused and he's not the only one.

"Well, either her mother was fooling around or there was a mix up at the hospital that she was born at," I say.

"Why do you say that?" he asks.

"Because Fire Mages can't burn to death," I tell him.

"I don't follow you," he says.

"Remember how I told you that Mage powers tend to run in families?" He nods. "Liz Sherman is obviously a Fire Mage which means at least one of her parents should have been a Fire Mage as well."

We sit in silence for a minute.

"Are you sure she's a Fire Mage?"

"Yes."

More silence.

"Is it possible for a Mage to be born to non-Mage parents?" he finally asks me.

"I guess anything's possible," I tell him. "After all, Mages are only supposed to be able control one element, yet here I am. I will try and find Miss Sherman a Teacher so that she can have better control of her powers."

"Miss Sherman has already been trained by the bureau," he says haughtily. I can feel one of my eyebrows rising toward my hairline.

"If you call what happened the other night proper training, Dr. Manning, then I think you need to get your eyes checked," I reply. "No Mage should loose control of his or her power like that. If money is a concern, then I will pay for the Teacher."

Before he can say any more, I continue.

"Now about Abe," I start.

"Yes," he interrupts. "What exactly happened last week?"

"What happened between Abe and me is between us, and is nobody else's concern," I respond. "However, what you did to Abe is totally unacceptable. To take an agent out into the field that is not able to perform his job is like a jockey asking his lame horse to run in the Kentucky Derby. It's foolish and someone is more than likely to get hurt from it. You are lucky that no one was hurt."

"I was trying to get him to snap out of his self pity, or what ever it was he was doing," he explains.

"Dr. Manning," I reply, "please leave psychiatry to the experts."

He glares at me, but I ignore the look.

"The final thing I would like to talk about is how I can help the bureau," I say. "I am willing to assist the bureau, but there a few things that you must know. The first is that I get final say one whether or not I go on a mission. If I feel my help is not warranted, then I will not go. I will not take up residence here, so you will need to contact me if you want my help. I would also like to have a way to contact the bureau if I need to. Since I am not in need of money, there will be no need to put me on a payroll. Do you have any questions?"

"How long will it take to get a Teacher for Miss Sherman?" he asks after he thinks for a minute.

"It depends on how many are in the area and whether or not any of them are compatible with her," I answer. "If there are no compatible Teachers in the area, than I will have to widen my search radius. For security reasons, I am willing for her lessons to take place at my house."

Manning agrees to this and then writes a couple of phone numbers down. The first is the main number for the BPRD and the second is his office. I leave, and make my way back to the library. It's time to tell Abe about the wedding. Oh joy.