"Angela, listen you don't have to put up with this, what they are saying is nothing more than a gilded cage. Do you understand? You cant decide to go out and eat or get a cup of coffee, or even step outside for a breath of fresh air, and I should know, the company in this place is dismal at best." Said Red as he motioned over to Agent Manning.

"I appreciate your candor with me Red, but...i'm just happy to be anywhere right now that isn't crawling with demons and hells terrors."

"Hah, you picked the wrong place here then." Said Manning in a condescending voice as he looked at Hellboy. A moment later however he realized what he was saying and then added. "But, um I assure you that your cooperation in this matter will be well worth it. Just come with me and we will discuss your living arrangements, and what not."

All of them walked together into the meeting room where a long table with some papers sitting on them lay. Agent manning picked them up and began reading them aloud to Angela.

"This says you will have your own quarters in the live in area of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, that's the wing where Hellboy is assigned so be careful." He said.

Hellboy gave him a frown before Manning continued. "You will receive food, clothing, and whatever else you may request. You will be allowed free access to all the interiors of the BPRD that your security card has clearance for. You will remain inside the walls of the BPRD, until such a time as we see that you may leave, in addition to staying here you will be required to undergo testing so that we may better determine your abilities, weaknesses, strengths and so forth, until such a time as we can place you into the proper position here at the BPRD." Said Agent Manning.

"Now hold on, you mean to tell me that not only are you keeping her here but you're using her as a guinea pig as well. No way this is..." Hellboy was becoming aggressively agitated.

Angela placed a hand on his arm. "Red, please, I am alright with these arrangements." She said in a soft voice.

Hellboy calmed himself as Manning handed her the security card, a map of the BPRD, and the number to her room.

"You will be given a couple of days to settle in before testing begins, is their anything you need before you go."

"Yes," said Angela as she took the items he handed her. "Would you look up my daughter, tell me if she is still alive, does she have any children, a husband, where she lives. Please anything you can find out," she said.

Agent Manning nodded. "Of course what is her name?"

"Katharine Amelia Shloble. Born in 1943, in Berlin, Germany. But her Grandparents Katherine and Mark Thompson came and took her to America, that's where she was raised. Please anything you can find out about her life in the last 29 years." She said. It sounded as though she was pleading with Manning.

"I will find out anything I can." He said.

An hour later Angela lay in her new bed in a very plain but large apartment type space. She had a bed room a kitchen a bathroom and even an attaching gym type room that was about as large as a football stadium. This was her favorite feature. She knew they had provided this for her so she could stretch her wings, and fly once they were strong enough. There were large metal poles and spaces where protruding from the walls were square metal platforms where she could land. When she saw this room she knew what her next request would be.

She rushed out the door and into her apartment. Very excited. She swung her door open to the hallway outside and ran straight into someone knocking them both forward.

"Uh, hi." Said Angela as she lay on top of Hellboy who had been standing at her front door.

"Err. Yeah." He moved to the side and they both stood to their feet.

It was at this point that Hellboy noticed just how tall her felt standing next to her. He was already a tall guy. Standing at 6 feet 9 inches he was taller than anyone he had ever met. But she was really short, 5 foot 5 it seemed was the most she could get and that was when she really tried.

"I um, just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood I guess." He said.

Angela noticed a wrapped package in his hand. Hellboy saw her look at it and handed it to her abruptly. "Here, uh, don't open it now it's just, just something for your place here." he said,

They were neighbors; in fact his room was just twenty feet away, right next door.

"I guess they put you so close because they wanted you to have the big room. I gotta door to that room from my place but I never use it, I think I even have a book case in front of the doorway. So you can do whatever you like to it. I don't really care." He said.

With that Hellboy shrugged his shoulders and walked away.

A minute later he lay on his sofa thinking. Dummy, he thought to himself, just standing there like some dope. He had been standing in front of her doorway for five minutes thinking of how he would say hello. He had to get a grip; he had to stop acting like such an idiot. She's married, he thought to himself.

But then he thought again, her husband died 71 years ago. But she also died so maybe she still considered herself married to him. This was all way to confusing.

Hellboy stood up abruptly and kicked the sofa. Cats scrambled everywhere. But Hellboy was determined to do something about how he was feeling. He walked over to the bookcase and picked it up. Moving it over to the other wall. The doorway to the huge room was revealed.

"You can do this just act natural." He said aloud to himself. "Just be yourself." The thought circled around in his head for a moment as he peered at himself in the mirror. He reconsidered and thought that then again maybe he should try and not be so much of himself.

He decided to think on it more and lay back down on the sofa.

It was several hours before he got up the courage again and headed out the door and over to Angela's.

It stood open a crack and Hellboy peeked in but no one was there.

"Hey kid." He called out but no one answered.

Hellboy cautiously made his way through the apartment, her room was much more elaborates than his, the lay out very much like an apartment one would find on seventh avenue.

The walls were white and the place was basically bare except for a television in the living room and a sofa and love seat, which were a rich blue color.

He stuck his head into her bedroom for a moment finding that she wasn't there but also surprised to find beautiful purple sheets with a red duvet over the bed. The bed was rather large, much larger than a king sized mattress most likely fitted to accommodate the length of her wings should she stretch them out in the night.

Hellboy felt a bit intrusive as he stepped in and looked into her bathroom for her and before even making it there all the way did a 180 and left her bedroom immediately.

He heard a noise from the doorway, which adjoined the large gym to her apartment. He opened it and suddenly felt very foolish for not just heading into the gym first thing from his own room.

"Red. "he heard from a female voice as he entered. "Hi." Said Angela.

"Hey, what are you doing?" he asked.

He looked down and felt a stone walkway beneath his feet. All around the ground covering every inch of the floor was dirt. The only part of the room not covered in dirt was the walkway, which led from Angela's door and rounded in various directions around the room. He looked over at his door and found that the same walkway led from his room as well, and connected to the rest of the path.

Angela smiled at him as he looked at his doorway. "I thought you might want to remove that bookcase you told me about once you see what i'm going to do with this place." She said with a smile.

Hellboy made his way over to where she stood. "What are you going to do?"

Angela placed the last of some seeds that she held in a bag. "Watch and see." She said with a smile.

"Take my hand Red you can help." She said as she took his stone hand in her own and stood next to him.

"Now, watch." She said. Her wings lifted up from being folded against her back and spread out to their full length, they were so big that their tips were even taller than Hellboy.

She breathed in a deep breath. Held it for a moment and closed her eyes. Then opening them again she softly blew out the breath.

Hellboy felt something overtake his boy. A warmth that relaxed his muscles and alerted his senses all at the same time. He felt his heart beat faster and saw a light start from Angela's body, dim at first but as it expanded outward it became brighter and brighter. He looked down at her and saw that her hair and cloths were blowing about her as though a warm breeze was blowing from the ground upwards. He looked down and saw that the wind was blowing him as well, he realized that the light was coming not just from her but from his also. It was so warm and calming. And as it spread out in a circle all around them he saw the dirt beneath their feet spring to life as thousands of tiny stalks of grass sprung up. They as he looked out onto the huge landscape before them he saw that all the dirt had grass. There were plants and bushes all around them as an entire garden was growing before their eyes,

The plants seemed to reach their peek and just when it appeared they were finished growing, trees suddenly sprung up around them. Huge oaks, and willow trees all grew from seeds before their eyes and turned in an instance into massive adult trees with limbs and leaves everywhere.

The light began to fade and return to them both and slowly the wind subsided, the warmth left and the light was gone.

Angela released Hellboys hand and turned to face him with a smile but he was still staring at the garden that was now before him. The beautiful garden with a path running through it, with trees and flowers and grass and bushes.

"H-how did you do this?" he said in astonishment, walking over and feeling the trees as though to make certain they were real.

"Actually red you did most of the work. I thought it would take me at least three days but with you helping me it was easy." She said.

"I don't understand. What did we do?"

"We gave them some life, its like life force. Whatever alive, strong energy you have in you can be transferred from one being to another, angels have just perfected the technique but everyone has the ability."

"I have never done anything like this before." he said walking back to her.

"Well no. Not like this, but if you have ever made someone feel better when they were ill or made someone smile. Its all the same thing, this is just a more intense version of that." Angela took Reds hand again and led him under the large willow tree.

She sat down in the grass and he sat with her.

"I still don't understand how we did this." He said.

"It is an angels power to relieve pain, to bring life back into those who believe they have none left. When I touched you and gave that life to the plants your energy was used also."

Hellboy watched her as she talked. She was so beautiful so graceful. He wandered how much of what Abe had read in that book was true and how much was just made up. It wasn't all a lie, he knew that from the pain in his ears when she screamed, but the book still had said nothings about this.

"I know I see it but I just don't know if I believe it." he said as he played with some grass in his hands. " I have never believed in angels."

Angela smiled. "I know, I never believed either until I became one."

"I think this garden is beautiful but wont it die, their isn't any sun here or rain." He said

"I will keep it alive, angels can sustain life they are connected to. Your connected to this garden now also. And as long as you and I are here the garden will thrive."

Hellboy was so fascinated with all of this, creatures of good never crossed his path and now he was speaking to one.

"What else can angels do, what are your abilities?" he asked.

"Well, angels can heal injuries, sense evil, sustain life, speak many languages. lets see, well angels are also immortaland and candestroywith theirvoice. Before I was cast into Hell I had all the memories of the earth, I understood so much about the world and its wisdoms. I am not a full angel any more, when I was though, I was much more powerful. But now I am mostly human, with just some extra quirks." She said with a smile

"Yeah, I remember that whole voice thing." he said rubbing his head.

"Oh, but my voice cant harm you anymore." Said Angela.

"That's a relief, but why not?"

"Your ears have probably already adapted by now." She said.

"Why do you think that?" he asked.

"Well with the type of cranium you have, it would only be effective once." She said. "Angels are also experts on demon anatomy." She said.

Hellboy looked hurt for a moment. Angela didn't know how sensitive he was about what he was. But she saw in his eyes how hurt he was even if he tried hard not to show it.

She immediately felt bad about saying that. " Hellboy, do you know why I trust you?" she said,

"No, actually I was really surprised that you opened up to me at all, after all I was the one who shot you."

"Their isn't any evil in you, you are kind and would never intentionally hurt anyone if you could help it." she said,

Hellboy was taken aback for a moment; he had never really been comfortable with compliments. But smiled and thanked her.

"By the way, if you can heal injuries, why haven't you healed yourself yet?" he asked.

"I can't heal myself, only others. And it takes some effort to do that." she said.

"Oh."

"so are you immortal?" he asked.

"not anymore. now that im not a full angel i just age more slowly and while angels cant be killed i certainly can." she said.

"their was a long silence as the conversation seemed to fizzle.

"So do you like cartoons?" he asked.

"Yeah."

Over the next seven hours or so Hellboy found out a lot about Angela. Many of the cartoons Hellboy had were old enough so she remembered them but she loved the newer ones also. She loved the color red, chocolate ice cream, poetry, painting, old black and white romance movies, and swing dancing. Her nickname in school was Bird; she loved philosophy, and had wanted a gold fish since she was three. She was afraid of the dark, and of demons though at one time, as an angel, had killed her share of them, and after watching clips of him could do a pretty accurate impression of Donald trump.

The two sat peacefully in Hellboys sofa, which was actually the back of a pick up truck that had, cushions and pillows everywhere. Hellboy leaned against the back of it with his feet stretched out in front of him. Angela sat right next to him leaning her head against his arm as they watched TV.

"Does the coyote ever catch the roadrunner?" asked Angela as they sat and watched another one of his famous episodes, this one where the coyote strapped a rocket to his back.

"I don't think so." Said Red.

"Oh," she said with a sigh. "Red, how secure is the DPRD, has anything ever escaped or gotten into this wing before?" she asked. Looking up at him.

"No. Nothing scarier than me has ever gotten in here, unless you count Manning." He said. Looking down to face her. "Don't worry kid, nothing could get in here, there are at least twelve security checks before you could ever break into even the perimeter of this place much less the live in wing."

Red knew why she asked; she had been in a hell dimension for so long, he was surprised she hadn't gone insane years ago. He had seen the terrible creatures that lurked in darkness. She didn't have to tell him that it would be a long time before she would ever feel safe again. He could only imagine how she slept at night. There were times when even he closed his eyes at night and had awakened in a cold sweat from nightmares about the things he had seen.

How had she remained so seemingly untouched by hells fury? For him it seeped down into who he was and had created a shell of strength. But Angela was so open, so honest and trusting, how could she have been in hell for so long and not lost these virtues?

Hellboy knew that different people dealt with hardship and terror in different ways, perhaps it had changed her just not in the same way it had changed him. Perhaps deep inside, underneath the innocence and the sweetness of her nature was a heart strengthened by her experience.

"Birdie, why aren't you cynical, why haven't you become mean and cold and hard by hell?" he asked.

Angela looked up at him as though she was thinking of her response. "Angels react differently to horrible, stressful, situations than others. We see and experience war, death, pain, and yes demons with our hearts. We learn to love and trust and cherish, joy and friendship and all the good things even more because we have seen the terrible things. They let us know how wonderful life is and why we must always be ready for the goodness."

Hellboy was amazed at the simplicity of her answer, yet it was so profound. He understood now, and found that a deep respect began to grow for her. Angela said it was in an angels nature to be that way but he knew it was who she was that allowed her to remain so wise to the ways of the world and yet still so happy and full of love.

"Angela." He said.

But she did not respond. He looked down, she was asleep. He lifted his arm and draped it around her shoulders and continued watching the TV. He was now, just a little happier while he watched.

i hope you like this chapter, the next one will be a little more action and as i build the storie the action will increase and the plot will form and the relationship between these two lost souls will continue.

see ya aikoalima