Something about the conversation that I've just had with Manning has given me a nagging feeling that I should be remembering something, but I can't for the life of me figure out what. My feet are starting to ache, despite that these boots are more comfortable then regular dress shoes. They probably haven't forgiven me for the last week.

I walk into the library. Liz and Hellboy have left, and Abe is swimming around in his tank. I walk up to the glass, he sees me, and dives straight to the bottom of his tank.

"You're mad at me, aren't you?" I ask.

"Hmph," is the only response I get.

"I'm sorry," I say. "But you did say Liz's name right after you kissed me."

I lean against the glass and look down trying to see him, but I can't. He's probably close to the wall under the glass. I look up and see a dark square patch above me. That must be how he gets in and out of the tank.

"We need to talk," I tell him. Silence.

I look around the room and notice the spiral staircase. I go upstairs. At the top of the stairs is a hallway with several doors leading off of it. I look through the first door and find the top of the tank. Most of the floor is taken up by the open hole in it. The only light in the room is coming from the tank, so the room is bathed in a shimmering blue light. There's a table and chair off to one side. There are towels on the table, the top half of his outfit is hanging from a peg in the wall and his respirator is on a shelf above the peg.

The most unusual thing in the room is the small black kitten sleeping on the chair with a glove. I quietly go over to the chair. The kitten suddenly looks up at me with big yellow eyes. She quickly runs and hides under the chair. I squat down and look at her.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," I say quietly. "I didn't mean to scare you."

My feet are protesting now. I'd like nothing more than to go home and soak my feet, but that's not going to be possible until I get things sorted out with Abe.

"Her name is Shadow," Abe says behind me. I turn and look at him. He's leaning on the edge of his tank. "She's a bit shy."

"Where'd she come from?" I ask, standing up. I suddenly realize that my thigh muscles didn't like that position.

"Hellboy found her and her sister in an alley up in Trenton," he says. "She's not supposed to be out of his room, but she keeps managing to sneak up here."

"What's with the glove?" I ask as I start walking toward him.

"It's one of mine," he answers. "It's a long story."

"I'd like to hear it sometime," I tell him. "But right now we need to talk."

"Take your shoes off," he says.

"What?"

"Take your shoes off. Your feet are hurting, so take them off."

I go over to the chair and sit down. I take my shoes off. Then I grab a towel and head back to the edge of the tank. I put the towel on the floor and then I sit down on it.

"Take your socks off," he says.

"Why?"

"So you can soak your feet."

"Where?"

"Right here," he says indicating the water in his tank.

"My pant legs will get wet," I tell him.

"So roll them up," he replies.

I take my socks off and toss them toward my shoes and then I roll up my pant legs.

"I feel like a refugee from a Mark Twain story," I say as roll up the last leg.

"Now put them in the water," he says.

"Are you sure about this?" I ask him. "I mean we are talking feet here."

"All of me is already in here," he answers. "Besides, that's what the filters are for."

I scoot closer to the edge and carefully stick my feet in. The water is the perfect temperature for cooling off over tired feet, not too cold, not too hot. I sigh with pleasure. Abe comes over to me and takes one of me feet in his hands. He starts rubbing it and it feels so good that my mind goes blank with the pleasure.

"What did you want to talk about?" he quietly asks me. I open my eyes and look at him. I hadn't even realized I had closed my eyes.

"Who are you?" I ask him.

"That's an interesting question," he says. "What do you mean by it?"

"I mean just that. Who are you?" I reply. "I don't know anything about you, even though you know pretty much everything about me."

Abe floats there a minute slowly treading water while rubbing my foot. Then he starts to tell me about himself. I close my eyes again, and I can see in my mind's eye his story. How he was found in a long forgotten chamber under St. Trinian's Hospital in Washington, D.C. by some plumbers. How he got his name from a scrap of paper pinned to the wall near the tube he was found in. About his first memories, the pain he felt as he was given a jolt of electricity to revive him. The fear and confusion of waking up for the first time and not know who he was or where he came from or where he was. The tests the bureau preformed on him until Hellboy put a stop to it. He tells me about Professor Broom, Hellboy's adoptive father, and his first meeting with Liz. He tells me that he likes to read just about anything he can get his hands on and that he's the one who does most of the research on missions.

When he stops talking I open my eyes again. At some point, I'm not sure when, he started rubbing my other foot while he was talking.

"Now there's something I need to tell you," I tell him. I'm not sure how to tell him my grandmother's plans. Suddenly, his eyes get very large and he stops kicking, causing him to sink. Unfortunately, he hasn't let go of my foot and he nearly pulls me into the water with him.

"AAAHHH!" I yell as I throw my weight back, and start trying to grab hold of something to keep me out of the drink. I start kicking with my free leg. A moment later, Abe's head breaks the surface of the water, and he pushes me back up onto the edge. My pants are now soaking wet, so much for rolling them up.

"A wedding!?" he says in a nearly panicked voice.

"Yeah, that was my reaction too," I say.

"Can't you tell her 'no'?" he asks.

"You try it," I tell him. "I know my grandmother. Unless the Earth plunges into the sun, she is going to plan this wedding. She's been planning for this since my 18th birthday. I'm sorry, Abe. I never meant for any of this to happen."

I start pulling my feet out of the water when he grabs my ankle.

"Why does she want to get you married so badly?" he asks.

"There's this whole consummating thing that she went into," I say. "It's pretty complicated."

Suddenly he pulls himself out of the water right in front of me. He's holding himself up by his arms and dripping all over me, so much for having any dry clothes to go home in.

"I think we can make that 'consummating thing' pretty simple," he says with a smile.

All of a sudden, he's kissing me and pushing me down onto my back. His tongue enters my mouth and I return the favor. He has one hand behind my head to keep it off the floor and the other up my blouse, searching. I pull him towards me. My legs part and my knees come up to let him get closer. I find the zipper to his shorts at the same time he finds the clasp to my bra.

BANG!!!

I nearly jump out of my skin. I turn and see Hellboy standing there with a rather surprised look on his face. Then a grin slowly spreads across that big red mug of his. A sudden wind slams the door shut in his face. He tries the knob, but it won't turn. He starts getting rough with the door as he tries to force his way in.

"You better let him in before he breaks the door down," Abe says. He rolls off of me and stands up in one fluid motion. He then helps me up. As soon as I'm on my feet I release the door. Hellboy comes flying in when the door suddenly opens for him. He almost falls into the tank.

I pick up the towel I was sitting on and walk back over to the chair. The kitten is walking in the opposite direction dragging the glove along. I watch her as she walks over to Hellboy and sits down. It's like she's waiting for him to notice her. He picks her and the glove up and sticks her in one of the pockets of his duster.

I sit down and start trying to squeeze the excess water out of my pants with the towel.

"I take it you came up here looking for Shadow?" Abe asks Hellboy.

"Yeah," he answers. He still has that stupid grin on his face. "I guess you guys kissed and made up."

"You could say that," says Abe. He walks toward me, picks up a towel and starts helping me get the moisture out of my pants.

"You know, it's easier to get into the pants from the top, not the bottom," Hellboy teases.

"Like you've had any better luck with Liz," Abe retorts.

"Have you and Liz kissed?" I suddenly ask Hellboy. He looks at me, startled.

"Of course I've kissed her," he says. "She is my girlfriend."

"When did you first kiss her?" I ask.

"Last November," he growls. "What is this? 20 questions?"

Abe and I look at each other. I start pulling on my socks.

"You think Liz is a Mage?" Ave asks.

"No," I answer, pulling on my first boot. "I know she is."

"Maybe we should sic your grandmother on them," Abe jokes. "It's not like Liz has any family to plan her wedding."

I stop in the middle of pulling on my second boot. A Mage born with no Family. The memory comes flooding back to me.

Daddy and the Librarian are sitting at the dinner table talking about a book that the Librarian has been translating with Daddy's help. The book is lying open on the table and there are papers strewn all over the place.

"Are you sure about this?" asks Daddy.

"I'm positive of it, Rupert," answers the Librarian. "The book says that a Mage born with no Family will bring about the end of the world."

I'm suddenly shaken out of my reverie by Abe grabbing my arms. His face is inches from mine and his eyes are large again. I have no doubt that he's just seen my memory.

"I have to go," I say as I quickly finish putting on my boot and stand up.

"What did you say this time, Abe?" Hellboy teases. Abe and I both ignore him as I charge out of the room with Abe right on my heels. Hellboy follows us in confusion. I'm across the library and out the doors in a heart beat. Abe is still right behind me. Hellboy is a couple of steps behind him. I step onto the platform outside the doors, but I have no idea how to make it go up. I turn around looking for the controls. I find Abe standing there.

He reaches behind me and pulls the ribbon out of my hair. He runs his fingers through my hair and then he cradles my head in his hands as he bends over and kisses me. I wrap my arms around him. When we finally separate, I can feel the sadness coming from him.

"Don't worry, my love," I tell him. "I'll be back before you know it."

He hands back the ribbon. I take it and tie it around one of his wrists. I hug him and then I gently push him off of the platform. He reaches over and pushes a button on the wall. The platform start to rise and I can see Hellboy standing in the doorway with a look of total confusion on his face. I'm sure Abe will fill him and the others in later on what I'm about to do and why I have to do it alone. I can't bear to watch Abe watching me, so I turn and face the opposite direction.

As soon as the platform stops, I quickly head out to the car. As soon as I'm in, I plug in the handless jack into my phone and start making calls. First, I call my travel agent and book a flight to Mexico. It leaves in about three hours. I call Helen to let her know I'll be gone for a few days. Then I call a limo service to arrange a pick up in one hour. I make it home in record time. I go inside to quickly pack one bag and then I grab my laptop and put it in its bag with a spare battery. Luckily, I've just charged both of the batteries. The limo arrives and I get in. As we head for the airport, I pop open my laptop and start sending emails. It's been a long time since I've seen the Librarian. I wonder if he'll remember me.

Author's note: Shadow is a character from a story that I co-wrote. If you want to read her and her sister's story, then please read "A Tail of two Kitties."