Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Hellboy Universe, but I own Rielle and Lavinia. So there. :P

Note: Thank you guys so much for the reviews so far, it's very encouraging to see. Also, thanks for putting up with my long-windedness, I'm known for going on and on, and it takes patience to read it all. As this is the first fic I've ever published on , I was a little nervous.

Chapter Four

Rielle:

After a bolstering cup of tea, our decision was made, for better or for worse (knowing my luck, worse). Lavinia was our spokeswoman, taking care of whatever details we needed, and I only spoke up when something needed clarification.

Broom sat patiently through this, answering questions as they came and giving reassurances as needed, looking extremely pleased with himself. I didn't have negative suspicions as to why; I knew he had as much distaste for spying on people as I did. At least if we worked here they could keep an eye on us without invading our privacy completely. We'd have time to ourselves.

I couldn't help but wonder why he offered us jobs in the first place? It wasn't what the military normally did when people invade their base, especially two strange Canadian girls who were more than noticeably hung-over. It nagged at me but I was too fatigued and overstuffed with new information already I couldn't come up with the energy to ask. I settled on going with the flow for now and let Lavinia take the reins.

After we signed some release forms and chatted a little more about procedure, we were assigned our jobs. It went like Broom said earlier, Vinny would cook, but not for the grunts like we both thought. Broom said she would cook for the 'Special Team'. Frankly I thought he meant disabled military veterans, but what do I know? If they had the bowels and the nerve to eat Vinny's chili, good for them. Maybe they'd be smart and fill up on bannock first.

After giving Vinny a big satisfied grin, Broom turned to me. "You, Miss Rielle,"

"Just Rielle, please. I feel too classy when you call me 'Miss'."

"Alright. You can have the Garage. Like I said earlier, we have plenty of vehicles in disrepair and a small team of partially trained and incompetent mechanics who couldn't tell the difference between a carburetor and an alternator. I need someone who knows what their doing."

All I could do is drift to happy-land, dreaming of roaring engines and the scent of 10W30. Lavinia thought I was nuts when I did this and told me so frequently. Could I help that I found powerful vehicles an extreme turn on?

Broom had this confused expression that made Vinny giggle and I came out of my dream state in embarrassment. "Sorry, I just love cars."

"Then this is the perfect job for you."

Hellboy:

It was almost suppertime before my father came and let me out of my room. After the medical ward incident he had guards posted at my door and the med guys came to me. No way to avoid the prodding and needles without physical injury to the staff.

So I spent the rest of the day watching TV and chatting online with Liz. I loved my new keyboard, specially made so I could type with both hands and not punch multiple keys. It was great. But after Liz went offline and there was nothing but those crappy soaps on the tube, I started to get bored. Then restless. By the time Father came around I was totally pissed and itching to do something violent.

I'm a nice guy, honest.

Didn't help that lunch consisted of some nasty looking chicken/veggie concoction. Blegh!

Let's have some dinner," he said after seeing the platter of health food mostly untouched on a table. "It's been a long time since we've broken bread together."

That simple statement made up for an entirely horrible day. I haven't actually sat down and eaten with him in months, and it felt all the more important now that we was getting up in years and weaker than he used to be. I hated, and avoided, thinking about a future without him here for me, but I knew enough to take advantage of the time we had left.

"Where?"

"My office, so we can talk with Abraham as well."

I grabbed my cigars, just in case, but a look from my father made me put them back. I knew he didn't like the smoke in his office. Damn.

Once we were in the hallway I remembered the girls from med lab. "Waitaminute, where are those two from this morning? What happened with that?"

"Don't worry about them right now; they're in their temporary rooms for the night." He saw my squinty I'm-on-to-you look and continued, "It's a very long strange story that can be told over tea."

"In other words, 'not right now, be patient.'"

Father appeared amused. He usually got that exact look after me and Abe had an argument, his patented 'KIDS!' look.

We had a full supper, me with a nice large steak not nearly enough but it'll do, Abe had those disgusting eggs and Father settled for a salad. Salad, Bah! No wonder he's so little. As usual me and Abe argued and joked around, much to the pleasure of Father, but it wasn't as heated as usual. We were all thrown off by the appearance of those two girls, and I was especially curious about the darker one, the spunky chick with the knife. I forgot her name already. I don't know if father was keeping silent on the subject just to make me wait and keep me in suspense, or because he honestly wanted to avoid the issue.

Finally our plates were cleared and some coffee was poured. The servers hated when I requested a pot, a full pot, to be filled with sugar and just given to me. They still haven't found a mug big enough for my java intake, so why fumble with the tiny cups? I longed for a sweet smoky stogie to top the evening off with all my heart and soul.

Father wandered the office, sipping his coffee with obvious disgust. I felt a little bad, he only drank it around me and he hated the stuff. Abe noticed his aimless wandering and pointed at him. I just shrugged, I didn't know what was wrong, and I wasn't the psychic. And since Abe refused to read father without permission out of respect for his privacy, he just gave up and asked outright.

"What's wrong?" Abe put a hand on his shoulder, just for comfort not a contact reading.

Father took a deep breathe, shoulders sagged. "Just a long tiring day, I'm alright."

Bullshit. "Bullshit."

Both of them burst out with an exasperated, "Hellboy!"

"What?"

Father sighed in resignation, does that a lot lately, and gave Abe a pat on the hand that touched his shoulder. "I've never been able to lie to you two. Today's been difficult. I've had two girls stumble onto something I can't explain without a court martial, then when I try to find a solution that doesn't involve murder, again the damned government steps in and makes it worse."

Wow, he swore. He never swears!

"And in the end," he continued, "because of one foolish mistake, neither of them will ever get complete freedom and privacy again. There's nothing I can do."

"I saw them earlier; they seemed relieved, even happy with what you came up with." Abe said.

"You saw them too?" I was surprised, after I ran into them this morning I assumed father would avoid any further risk.

"I tried to read them through the tank from my room. I got barely anything from one of them, and just gave up."

"Interference?"

"No, I read the Redhead just fine."

"The other is a strong woman, that much is obvious, but I doubt she could withstand your whole probing thing without some sort of interference. Maybe she's got a metal plate in her head."

Abe laughed a little, but father remained glum. "I'm reserving judgment until the security checks come back, and even then, I want to wait for Abe to get a decent reading from Miss Cyr."

"So what was your 'solution'?" Everyone knew but me, dammit.

"I gave them jobs on base."

"WHAT?"

"Lower your voice."

"Sorry." I really wanted a cigar.

"Apparently, the crazy one is our new chef." Abe said smugly.

"WHAT?"

Father just groaned. "Well, it was either that or letting them go back out there with no jobs, possible jail time and no privacy for the rest of their lives. Tanner won't let them go without making their lives utter chaos, so I found a way to keep them here."

I mimicked my father and groaned. "Fine. At least tell me she can cook better than McCarthy."

"She's a chili cooking contest champion."

I gave my father a light squeeze. "I love you."

Abe laughed.

Rielle:

We were shown to our temporary quarters, where we were to stay until our security checks came in. I've seen worse, I thought when the door was opened. It was cold, bare, and only slightly bigger than a closet, but at least it had a plant. Yay. Naturally Lavinia beat me to the top bunk, took dibs on it before I could even put my backpack down. Beats me how she managed to climb that fast with one arm in a cast and bandaged feet, but hell, the bitch was persistent.

"Tramp."

"Bitch!" She shot back. We got a funny look from the guard before she shut the door on her way out.

I sat on my bunk and popped my boot off. The other was bandaged and swollen so my other boot was hanging off a strap on my bag. Already the swelling had subsided, but with all the running around today, it could have been better. I swung my feet up onto the lumpy mattress and passed out for a while to the tune of Lavinia's heavy snores.

I didn't count the on and off napping in the hole as sleep, so technically, we'd been up and running for around 36 hours. We both needed the rest after an amazing and frightening day.

When I woke up a few hours later I immediately reached for my bag. My dreams were so strange, so vivid. I wanted to get them down on paper before I forgot.

All the rustling woke Lavinia, who grumbled and tried to whack me from above, but she was easily dodged and I got down to writing. After a page and a half I only had the first few scenes of the dream, lots of screaming, guns and blood. Technically one could call that a nightmare but I was a little weird and just called it an entertaining yet slightly disturbing dream. Well, if it wasn't for the main character. He was predominant in almost every scene. I know I probably made stuff up, like his hand being stone and the huge twisted horns, but the rest seemed so real.

When I was finished, I had pretty much everything down and it ended up 5 pages long. I wondered if it had some prophetic meaning, some bit of futuristic advice I should follow, or was it just some super-detailed dream I could write off as just too much pizza before bed.

Hellboy:

After finding out about Abe's reading of the girl Lavinia, my new chef, Whee! I was much relieved. She may be a little light in the head but at least she was safe. And Dad trusted her enough to expose her more to me and Abe. She'd get used to us sooner or later.

It was the other one I was worried about. She was a knife-wielding, unreadable intelligent person who was now given access to plenty of solid bashing tools and multi-ton moving objects. Might get passed off as paranoid if I said it aloud, but something about that just didn't sit right with me. Note the sarcasm.

The three of us said our goodnights but not before I had assurances Abe would try the probing thing again. He said that it would be difficult without direct contact, but not impossible.

I was going to go back to my room to catch CSI and get a short workout but yet again my belly grumbled at me. Instead I stalked off to the cafeteria, now closed, but I knew where the unlocked kitchen access was. I had a craving for leftover pizza.

Rielle:

I couldn't get back to sleep. The smallest sounds kept waking me up just as I was drifting, and Lavinia's obnoxious snoring didn't help one bit. I spent a good 20 minutes staring at her bedsprings before I got fed up and crawled out of bed. According to the clock it was around 10:30, so there should still be access to food. I nixed my shoes, avoiding a goofy looking limp, settling for just hobbling slightly. The door was well oiled and didn't creak as I pulled it open, hoping to keep silent for Lavinia's sake. Poor kid was just zonked. I slipped out and smacked right into the guard.

"Need anything?"

Great. And the restrictions begin. "Food. Against regulations?" I was really pushing my luck and I knew it, so I have myself a mental bitchslapping and calmed down. My mouth got me into enough shit already.

"No, but do you know the way there?" She asked sweetly, not a hint of sarcasm. I had to quit assuming people in uniform were assholes.

"Uhh, yah," I replied uncertainly. She noticed and grinned. "But just in case, what do I do if I get lost?"

"Just yell a little. People get lost here all the time. Oh, and technically, the kitchens closed up now. But there's a back way in for midnight snackers they haven't shut off yet. Look for the kitchen access sign."

Cool. "Alrighty then."

"If you want, I'll escort you." She offered. I declined and started off. "Oh, and by the way," she said loudly as I was about to turn a corner, "You got to loosen up a little. We're pretty relaxed here after hours."

I smiled at her. "Thanks. I'm tense enough as it is, having the guards be all evil and following me would just suck." She laughed a bit as I disappeared. That's it; this place is officially on my Weird list.

Yet again the almost complete lack of standard military procedure made me a lot more comfortable. Maybe that's how they presented themselves in front of civvies, even ones under probation like me and Vinny. Still, it was cool of them.

As I hobbled my way down the semi-dark hallways, I ran into only a few scattered soldiers in varied camo-wear, and one guy in a suit who gave me a dirty look as we brushed shoulders. Tightass, I thought when I saw his shoes, tie and watchband matched colors exactly. I can probably check my makeup in that gargantuan bald spot if he just kneeled down a little.

I found the back access door to the kitchen and tested the knob, found it unlocked. Inside it was dark except for a few stove lights and the crimson emergency exit sign on the other side of the massive room. Creeping around in the dark like this I felt a little disoriented, but my empty belly spurned me on.

Hellboy:

I ran into that asshole Tanner in the hallway, the guy who's been harassing my father lately. He was holding yet another file to shove down his throat, and from the looks of it the thing was stuffed with procedural crap again. So naturally I got a kick out f his trying to squish past me in the narrow hall and getting a doorknob up his ass for his trouble. Goes nice with the pole already up there, pal.

The kitchen wasn't far so I didn't run into anyone else before I got there. I saw a light inside through the small window near the top, probably another soldier rooting around the fridge, so I pushed my way in, assuming they wouldn't care. Who ever was in there kept the lights off, but I didn't mind. The dark didn't spook me even though my night-vision was about as good as Liz's. I was used to dark places.

I knew my way around and headed for the now-closed fridge. The other guy wasn't there anymore, now he was somewhere to the left by the counters.

"Hello?" Oh, it's a girl.

"Hey."

"You know where the forks are?"

"You new?"

"Yah." The reply was accentuated with a bang. "Fucking hell!"

"You okay?"

"Goddamned boxes." Her voice came from the floor four feet away. I could barely make her out, but could tell she was tiny. I heard her shuffling boxes out of the way as she got up and started rifling through drawers.

"Other side of the counter, third from the right." I said helpfully.

"Thanks."

She sounded more and more familiar. I wanted to get a closer look, but, well, I was nervous. If she was who I thought she was, I might get a stab wound or two. Negative aspects of being in a kitchen with pointy things. Nah, can't be her, there's other newbies here too. Could be a rookie soldier or something.

Rielle:

"Ha!" Victory is mine!

Found the forks?" the man with the deep voice asked. He was somewhere near the fridge, digging through the dish rack for a plate. There wasn't any light but from the digital stove clock and he was only slightly green lit. The exit sign wasn't visible from here.

"Yup. Now the fun part, where's the microwave?"

"What do you have?"

"Some weird chicken veggie shit."

He made a disgusted "Blegh." Sound, "I'd skip it if I were you, it's gross."

"Oh, I know, my friend ate it earlier, but there wasn't any leftover pizza when I checked, so I'm sort of stuck."

The guy muttered "Damn". The green light blotted momentarily as he moved past the stove towards where I was. Christ, he was huge.

Waitaminute. Nahhh, couldn't be. I wanted to see him better so I moved back around the counter a little. "Where's the microwave?" I repeated, clutching my plate of good as I maneuvered over the boxes. We weren't 5 feet from each other but his back was turned, so I couldn't see his face. He lifted an arm and pointed to the left of the fridge.

"Got to be something edible in here."

"I saw some bread in the fridge, maybe there's meat and cheese?"

"Mmm, sandwich." He did a decent Homer Simpson impression!

I popped my plate in the microwave and tried to see the buttons enough to actually turn it on. My kitchen-buddy was almost back to the fridge when suddenly I heard a bang and a yelp. The fridge door flew open and whacked me hard, knocking me off balance. The open door exposed the room to dull illumination but from my angle I could only see the ceiling.

Another loud crash sounded so I lifted my head from the floor and saw someone's kneecap under the fridge door, surrounded with those little ketchup packets and a can of Coke.

"Oh shit, you okay?" I asked around giggles. Sure, I was concerned for his wellbeing and all, but it was funny!

The guy grumbled a bit. "Ow."

Beside the knee a giant reddish fist smacked into the floor. Then I saw a bit of black hair and red skin above the door.

"Goddamned kitchen staff." A pair of yellow eyes next. Then he spotted me. "YOU!"

The microwave dinged. Eep!

Hellboy:

I knew it!

The girl looked as shocked as I felt, but I expected a scream or even a harsh intake of breath from her and it didn't come. She just waved and said "Hello."

I got off my knee and stood up, rubbing at the bump on my temple, feeling a little dumb. She also got off the ground and wiped some crumbs off her already dirty clothes. I noticed something flash in her hair.

"Your fork..." I started, fumbling. Her left eyebrow lifted. "Umm, fork's in your hair."

"Shit." She felt around and yanked the fork out, pulling a small chunk of long black hair with it without cringing. Then we just stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do next. Those are the same clothes she had on this morning, I remembered from the med lab incident. Her hair was a little messier but her face was clean.

"Umm..." she smiled shyly. It was my turn to lift an eyebrow. She pointed at my chest; I looked and sighed at the red ketchup stain marring my shirt. I looked around in vain for a dish cloth to dab the stuff off with. I closed the fridge door and found the stove-top light, flicking it on but still, I couldn't see a cloth anywhere.

The girl, Rielle silently watched for a few seconds, then grabbed her chicken-sludge from the microwave. I heard her plate hit the counter behind me. I felt her move again and the light tapping on my left arm. I turned and accepted the wad of napkins she held.

"Thanks."

Our eyes met and held for a minute. Then her eyes moved to the ketchup stain on my shirt. I looked at her for a couple seconds more; she's got a cut on her head, and then also stared at the red gob on my shirt. She let go of the napkins and moved away, making a strange noise in her throat, and it took a while until I grasped that she was laughing again.

Rielle:

I knew damned well laughing at someone who was twice my size and looked like a demon wasn't exactly a genius thing to do, but I just couldn't help myself. The entire scene was ridiculous! The domesticity of food preparation, the damned fork in my hair and the general chaos resulting from him smacking into the fridge like that was bad enough, but seeing this huge guy trying his damnedest to wipe ketchup off his shirt and only succeeding in spreading it around just made it worse.

"Not funny." He sounded pissed, but he was visibly amused from the curve of his lips. He gave up the fight once the stain was double the size and tossed the napkins away, only making a bigger mess when they went splat onto the nice white cupboard doors, distributing little red globs all over the place... and that only made me laugh harder.

He looked at me oddly so I pointed at the new mess.

"Aww, son of a bitch!"

I couldn't breathe! My gut hurt, I was laughing so hard! I couldn't even see the red guy for all the tears clouding my eyes. What a tension relief!

My opinion of this unusual guy changed in that instant. Sure he had red skin, but then again, to a lesser extent, so did I. So he had a tail and horns? Well, used to have horns... didn't mean fuck all to me. Plus, with the last couple of minutes, he really showed himself to be a decent guy, normal as hell. Clumsy maybe, but then again, so was I. And anyone who can put up with my laughing with patience had to be cool.

He shook his head and chuckled at my helpless display. "You done yet?" he said in good humour, waving a bag of whole wheat bread around.

I tried various breathing techniques to calm down, still busting out into giggles now and again as the big guy prepared hat appeared to be a ham sandwich. He put all his stuff in the sink and put the plate on the counter in front of me, taking my bowl of now partially congealed food away. "Eat."

"Huh? What about you?"

He held up another plate with a huge sandwich on it, placed it on the counter and sat down across from me. Didn't say anything, just started chowing down on his meal.