As she lies sleeping, I watch over her, chasing the nightmares away as I gently stroke her hair. It's amazingly soft despite the fact she hasn't had a chance to wash it lately. She's pulled it back into one of those damn braids again, but I guess it's for the best, since I'd probably play with it instead of standing guard over her dreams.

She twitches and whimpers in her sleep and I can feel the nightmare forming. All the same elements from the first nightmare are there. The Outback, an ice cage and Taylor are all present, but now there's a new figure. It's me pointing a spear gun straight at her.

I quickly push the nightmare away and she sighs, falling into a deeper sleep. Pulling my hand away, I put my elbows onto my knees and drop my face into my hands. The guilt returns. She said that she forgave me, and I know that she did. But obviously, her subconscious hasn't.

All she had to do was look at me and I couldn't move. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't stop myself from pointing that spear gun at Maggie. All I could do is watch in horror as the woman I love looked at me with absolute terror in her eyes.

The only other time I've ever felt so helpless was when they were performing those tests on me after I was revived. After Hellboy freed me from that tank, it never occurred to me that someone could control me so completely again. I thank god that Hellboy was able to stop me. I don't think I would have been able to live knowing that I killed Maggie.

I pull my mind back to the one who was responsible for this mess. I have never both hated and feared a person so totally in my life. She tried to make me kill Maggie, she tried to rape me and there was nothing I could do to stop her. The parallels between Maggie's experience with Taylor and me with this woman are not lost on me. It makes the rotten eggs I ate earlier feel like that I swallowed river rocks instead.

"How is she?" asks Manning.

I was so consumed with my thoughts and guilt that I didn't hear or sense him come into the area. He's actually concerned about her, that's kind of shocking, but that's not the only reason he's here. I unfold my legs from the full lotus position I was sitting in and stand up. I hand a clipboard with my report to him.

"She's sleeping soundly now," I answer. "I've managed to stop the nightmare a couple of times now. That doesn't mean it won't try and resurface again. It's best if I stay here for now. I'll type up the report after we get back."

"That's fine, Abe," he says as he starts to walk away with the report. "We'll have the debriefing after she wakes up and eats. Keep up the good work."

'Good work' he calls it. I wasn't able to protect her when she needed me the most and then I nearly kill her. 'Good work' indeed.

Sighing, I cross my legs again and settle down on the floor next to Maggie's' cot. I place my hand once more on her head and watch her dreams. She's gone back into REM sleep again. She must have done that while I was talking to Manning. I check and it's a dream about horses giving birth. It's actually a little gross and fascinating at the same time.

The mare turns into Magick. She climbs on his bare back and then their riding through the forest at top speed. They're trying to outrun an unseen monster. They come around a corner and there I am with the spear gun between them and the fence that surrounds headquarters.

I try something different. Instead of stopping the dream, I try and change it a little. I make my dream self point the gun behind her and fire at the unseen monster, managing to kill it. Suddenly, my dream self is behind her on Magick and we're riding along a beach at sunrise. She stops Magick, and then turns and kisses me.

The dream fades as Maggie opens her eyes and smiles at me. I smile back and stroke her hair.

"Hi," she says quietly.

"Hi," I answer back.

She flinches slightly. Oops. I forgot to brush my teeth after eating. I stand and help her get out of the cot. She wraps her arms around my waist and lays her head on my chest. She's listening to my heartbeat. I wrap my arms around her shoulders and hold her close. After a couple of minutes like this, I hear her stomach growl. Chuckling, I step back.

"Go get something to eat," I tell her. "Manning wants to start the meeting after you're done."

"What is it with that man and his meetings?" she asks rhetorically. Then her eyes brighten and mischievous smile comes across her face. "Does that mean if I don't eat, there won't be a meeting?"

"No, it means we'll have to try and hear Manning over the growling of your stomach," I answer.

"Drat," she pouts.

"Go," I order her, pushing her in the direction of the galley. "I'll join you in a minute."

I go brush my teeth and then head for the galley. I find Maggie with her usual cup of coffee and bagel, but it seems she's also found an orange. Hellboy is across from her as she peels her orange. There's a huge bowl of chili in front of him, and sounds like he's trying to get her to eat some.

"Come on, it's good stuff," he tells her.

"I'm sure it is, but no thank you," she replies.

"There's plenty still in the pot, I could go and get you bowl," he offers.

"No, but thank you, Red," she says patiently.

"There's meat in that chili, isn't there?" I ask, stopping Hellboy before he can make another offer.

"Yeah, so?" he responds.

"So," I answer as I take the seat next to her. "Maggie is a vegetarian."

"Not a complete vegetarian," she replies, a sly smile playing across her mouth. "I still eat fish."

I pick up her thoughts and I can feel the blood rushing to my face. Hellboy starts laughing loudly while she sits there and sniggers. I'm tempted to leave, but I just decide to give as good as I get.

"Promises, promises," growl into her ear.

She giggles as she pulls away from me. I can see goose bumps forming on her arm, and a slight shiver runs through her body. I start to reach for her as Manning walks in.

"If you three are through acting like teenagers," Manning interjects, "the meeting will start in ten minutes."

He leaves as Maggie and Hellboy quickly finish their meals. The other agents start to walk in and take their seats. Hellboy is scraping the last of the chili off of the bottom of the bowl as Maggie finishes off her coffee when Manning walks in.

"All right, people," Manning starts, "this mission could have gone worse, but it could have gone a lot better. While we did catch the person responsible and all of the monsters are dead, we nearly lost a couple of agents."

He pointedly looks at Maggie and me.

"So what was that lady's deal anyways?" asks Hellboy.

"I'll let Abe answer that one," Manning replies.

"Theresa Lewis was born to an impoverished Water Mage mother in San Diego," I start. "Father died twelve years ago when she was just five leaving her mother to provide for her and her younger brother and sister. Money was tight, and the family had to scratch out a living using any means. Lewis decided that easiest way to make money for her family was to be a 'hero.' She would go in, release an ahuizotl in the water supply of a small town, leave for a couple of days and then come back in and take care of the 'problem' for a price. She did this all through Mexico and Central America and it was always small places, nothing major. A few weeks ago she decided that it was time to go big and set her sights on the Panama Canal. Her first step was to infest the canal with the ahuizotls. Since she could only create two in a day she knew it was going to take a long time. She had been there just over a week when we showed up and ruined her plans."

"So, she was in it for the money?" Hellboy asks.

"Yes," I answer.

"Do we have to worry about her family coming after her?" Hellboy inquires.

"I don't think her family knows where she is," I reply.

"Great, well we got her," Hellboy says. "At least she won't be pulling anymore stunts like that for a while."

"Actually," Manning interrupts. He doesn't look happy. I sense his thoughts and my stomach ties itself in a knot. "I got a call from the Panama authorities a short time ago. Two men are dead and Lewis is missing."