I'm swimming in open water. There are no walls around me. I am enjoying the freedom when I'm suddenly grabbed from behind. I try to break free, but I can't. I feel arms wrap around my torso. I look over my shoulder to see Maggie's smiling face. Then I feel her hands start to caress my chest and stomach. I relax into her. Her hands travel lower, and I can feel my body respond to her gentle touch. She softly strokes me and I can feel her lips on my back and shoulder. I let out a low moan. She floats around to face me. She presses her lips to mine and wraps her legs around me. She starts to lower herself.
"Abe, are you all right?" Dr. Jones asks. "You're heart rate and blood pressure just went through the roof."
I open my eyes and look at him. He's staring at me and he's totally unaware of the dream he's just disrupted. My body, however, is totally aware of the dream I just had. The device that is on the lower part of my anatomy is encased is even more constricting that foam neoprene.
"I'm ok, doctor," I answer as I try and will my blood back to where it's supposed to be.
"Well, since I'm already here, I might as well check you," he says.
He asks all the usual questions. Then he checks the read outs on the monitors and makes notes on my sheet.
"Do you need anything for the pain?" he finally asks.
Now that the adrenalin has worn off, I can start feeling the pain of my wounds again. I hate taking drugs since it plays havoc with my abilities, but I can feel the pain quickly escalating.
"Yes, please," I answer.
"Ok, I'll send the nurse in momentarily," he says.
He leaves and a short time later the nurse comes in with the dose. She administers it through a special tube that's connected to the healing device attached to me. In a little bit, my awareness starts to fade and I fall into a dreamless sleep.
I awaken to the sound of keyboard keys clicking. I groggily open my eyes. Maggie is sitting on a stool at the table in the middle of the room. She's wearing headphones that are plugged into the laptop that she's typing on. I can faintly hear music coming from the headphones.
Instead of disturbing her, I just float there and watch. I notice the way the light plays on her hair catching the red highlights, the color of her eyes, the arch of her eyebrow, the line of her nose, the curve of her lips.
How beautiful, I think.
Maggie suddenly jumps, startled. She turns and looks at me. She smiles as she takes the headphones off. I can hear the music a little louder now.
"What's beautiful?" she asks.
"You are," I tell her.
She ducks her head a little, looking down. I see her smile get a little bigger and her cheeks are turning pink. She gets off of her stool and starts walking toward me.
"Thank you," she says.
"You're welcome," I reply. "I wasn't even aware that I said that out loud."
"You didn't," she responds laying a hand on my tank. "I heard it in my head."
I place my hand opposite of hers. I can get some images and feelings, but it's all one big jumble right now. The drugs are still interfering with my abilities.
"How are you feeling?" she asks. I can see the worry in her eyes.
"Like shish ka bob," I joke, "skewered and seared."
The sadness in her eyes just about breaks my heart. I want to hold and comfort her, but I can't while I'm in here. All I can do is move closer to the glass. She rests her forehead and her other hand against the glass and closes her eyes. I mirror her from my side. I hear someone enter and then leave, but I ignore whoever it was.
"The others are going to be here soon," she quietly says.
"The debriefing," I respond. She nods.
"Manning has been waiting for you to wake up," she tells me.
"That's usually the case," I say. She starts to pull away. "Please, don't go yet."
She leans against the glass again and I stay with her. She finally steps away as the first person for the meeting arrives. It's John. Maggie returns to her stool and clicks on a few more keys before closing it. In short order, everyone arrives and the room is soon filled to capacity.
Manning walks in with his usual air of superiority and takes a position at the other end of the room from my tank. He starts the meeting with the usual stuff: going over all the things that went wrong with the mission, the clean up detail, dealing with the civilians that saw us. This time he used the excuse that it was a publicity stunt for some company. Better than telling them the truth, I suppose. Finally, we get to talking about the sirens themselves.
"Now, we've been trying to figure out why the sirens were in Manhattan to begin with, but we're still drawing a blank on that," says Manning. "Since all of the sirens were destroyed, we can't ask them. We still haven't ruled out an outside force bringing them here."
"They were hungry," I say.
Everyone turns and looks at me. Manning scowls at me.
"What makes you say that?" he demands.
"It's what I picked up from the one that grabbed me," I answer. "Since ships now have the wheels inside the pilot house, their singing has no effect on the helmsmen. The few boats that they were able to wreak had very few people on it. They can only affect men, so if women are on board, the boat got away. They moved on in search of more fertile waters, but encountered the same problem everywhere they went. They eventually adapted to the changing times. Karaoke bars are perfect venues for them. It allows them to entice several men at once. Usually, they hit several bars at the same time finding at least one willing victim at each bar. They work an area for a short time and then they usually move on. Since Manhattan is so large, the temptation was too great for them, and they stayed longer than normal."
"Oh," says Manning. "Very well then. Meeting dismissed. Miss Cavendish, I would like to speak to you."
People start to leave. A few of the agents stop by and say "hi." Guillermo, Hellboy and Liz hang back as the last of the regular agents leaves. Maggie is still sitting on the stool, patiently waiting.
"Miss Cavendish, if you would please follow me to my office," Manning says waving a hand toward the door.
"No," she responds. Manning looks at her with a rather startled look on his face. Maggie points over her shoulder at us. "They're going to know what we talk about the instant I walk out of your office, so lets just skip making me repeat everything."
"Very well," says Manning. He doesn't look happy. "Miss Cavendish, you have taken to treating the BPRD as a second home, and I must say I'm not happy with this. You come and go whenever you please. You throw parties without prior approval. You have even pulled a certain agent away from his duties for your own pleasures.
"I was unaware that my comings and goings were causing you such distress. For that I do apologize," Maggie says. "The party was a whim of the moment thing and it cost the bureau nothing more than the use of some of the muscles of agents that were otherwise unoccupied. The food, decorations and tree were all purchased by me. I have not heard a single complaint from any of those who attended. You were invited, Dr. Manning. The fact that you decided not attend was your decision. As for that 'certain agent,' as you most assuredly are aware, we are engaged to be married. So, I hope you will find it understandable that we want to spend time together."
"But to take him all the way to your home when he might be needed here?" he demands.
"I've never taken Abe out of headquarters," she answers. "He found his own way each time he came to visit. Dr. Manning, as I've stated before, if they goes into a controlled situation, why shouldn't Abe and Hellboy be allowed to leave headquarters? I don't expect you to let them stroll down Main Street, but they should be allowed to have some freedoms. Even inmates on death row are allowed out of their cells every once and a while."
"There's plenty for them here," Manning counters. "They don't need to go wandering around."
"A gilded cage is still a cage, Dr. Manning," she reminds him. "It's just prettier to look at. If it were true that they have everything they need here, then why do they keep leaving? From what I understand there's a certain agent who used to make it a habit to go out on little forays on a regular basis."
"Yes, well that seems to have finally ended," Manning growls throwing a rather nasty look at Hellboy. "I can't just let them go wandering out whenever their hearts desire it."
"I understand that," she replies. "But you can't keep them locked in here forever either. They're not going to stand for it. And quite frankly, there's really no way you can truly stop them. No matter how carefully you try to monitor them, they will get out if they want to."
"Well, your house is not an acceptable place," he argues.
"Why not?" she counters. "It's secluded, it can't be seen from the road, and I'll know if anyone comes onto the property. Quite frankly, I think it sounds like the perfect place."
"What about paparazzi?" he continues. "They'd just love to get a shot of Abe."
"That's if there were any paparazzi that were still interested in me," she tells him. "They gave up following me around years ago. Why follow around someone who's only interested in helping abused animals when you can follow Paris Hilton around? Dr. Manning, you need to get past your prejudices and realize that Abe and Hellboy deserve the same rights as you or I."
Manning stands there dumbfounded. I can tell he's about to try banning her from the bureau again when the claxon goes off.
"Code Red. Code Red."
"Why don't you sit this one out, Blue?" Hellboy jokingly says as he, Liz and Manning quickly leave. Maggie comes over to my tank and rests her hand on it.
"I'll see you later, love," she says.
She doesn't say the rest of what she wants to say, but I pick it up anyways. Happy Valentine's Day. Today's Valentine's Day? Guillermo is the last one to leave.
"Guillermo," I call after him.
"Yes, Abe?" he says, coming back into the room.
"Could you help me with something?" I ask.
"It depends on what it is," he answers. "What do you need help with?"
I tell him, and devilish smile crosses his face.
"I think I can manage something," he says. "Let me see what I can do."
Dr. Jones comes in to check on me as Guillermo leaves. Shortly after that, I'm given another dose of pain medication and I drift off to sleep again.