Abe opens his eyes and barely registers his surroundings. His top has been cut away and his chest is swathed in bandages, the ends of the spear have been melted and twisted off to about six inches from either side of his body and he's laid out on a stretcher that's being carried towards a waiting helicopter.

"Abe!" Hellboy exclaims upon seeing Abe's eyes opening.

"What?" Liz shouts, startled as she whips around.

"But he was…," John starts, never finishing.

"What…what am I?" Abe moans.

"He's delirious," Hellboy states as he looks down on his friend.

"Don't worry, Hellboy," one of the agents from the helicopter says. "The medical staff at the bureau is standing by.

In a matter of minutes, Abe is loaded onto the helicopter with Liz by his side. He looks up at his long time friend and idly notes what a mess she looks. Mud and muck are plastered over her front and tears have left streaks down her cheeks.

"You really gave us a scare there for a while," Liz tells him as the chopper begins to lift into the air.

"Lewis…" he gasps out around the pain.

"Hellboy shot her," Liz replies. "They've gone to collect the body and to deal with any left over kelpies."

The wind is kicked up by the helicopter blades causing the church bell to start tolling again. Abe shivers at the sound, his vision still fresh in his mind. As he slips into unconsciousness once more, Liz places her hand on his chest. She leaves it there so she can feel his heartbeat for the rest of the ride back to the bureau even though there are monitors to do that job.

When they arrive back at headquarters, Abe has awoken once more and a gurney with the medical team is waiting for him. His stretcher is quickly placed on the gurney and the medics start to work on him. He feels a needle slide into a vein as an IV is inserted and then the sting of the sedative. He can feel the gurney begin to move as the edges of his world start to go dark again. The last thing he sees before everything goes black is his wife's tear stained face.

She watches them take him away through the doors to the operating room. She buries her face into Guillermo's chest and starts crying again. Guillermo's heart breaks for her as she pours her fears and pain out into his shirt. For the next several hours they wait until the doctor comes out.

"Well, we've patched him up as best we can," Dr. Jones starts when he joins them in the waiting area. "It's going to be touch and go for a while, but he's strong and he heals nearly as quickly as Hellboy. I'm confident that he'll be fine. They'll be putting him in the med tank shortly. You can visit him if you want, but he won't be awake for some time. For now we're going to keep him unconscious to allow his body to heal. Do you have any questions?"

She just shakes her head and Jones nods his head in understanding. After he's gone, Guillermo helps her to the room they keep Abe's tank in. He floats there with his eyes closed gently bobbing up and down in the water. She goes to the glass and places her hands against it as she leans her forehead against the cold hard material. She starts crying again as she slowly sinks to the ground. When Guillermo tries to make her leave, she refuses to go.

As he struggles his way back to consciousness, the first thing he notices is a searing pain in his chest followed by the all too familiar sounds of his medical tank. He tries to feign sleep for a few minutes longer until the rumbling of his stomach gives him away.

"You can stop faking it, Abe," a low, growling voice tells him.

Abe finally opens his eyes and looks straight into the glowing amber eyes of his best friend. They stare at one another for several moments until the sound of a whimper and a moan distracts them. Abe quickly looks around and finally locate Maggie asleep on the floor in front of his tank. She's nestled into a large pile of pillows, curled around her large belly and looking the worse for wear. The medical equipment attached to his chest prevents him from going all the way down to her level.

"Liz wanted me to bring a reclining chair in here for her, but it wouldn't fit through the door," Hellboy informs Abe. "She's been there since they put you in there three days ago. The only time she leaves is to go to the bathroom."

"Lewis?" Abe asks his voice rough with disuse.

"I shot her," Hellboy answers as he gnaws on an unlit cigar stub. "At least I could have sworn I shot her. I saw the bullet hit, she went flying backwards and we found fresh blood on the shore of the pond, but we didn't find her. The pond's been dredged but we didn't find anything but the usual garbage."

"I heard a church bell…," Abe starts.

"You mean before you bought it?" Hellboy roughly asks and Abe nods in response. "The wind created by the chopper's blades caused the bell to move enough for the clapper to the hit the side a couple times." He's quiet for several moments before continuing in a hushed voice, "You were dead for nearly two minutes, pal."

Hellboy looks everywhere else but at the tank. The muscles in his jaw stand out making it very evident that he's grinding his teeth. Red's gaze eventually comes to rest on the sleeping woman on the floor.

"She knew," HB states. "The instant your heart stopped beating, she started screaming. She's been pretty upset since then. Guillermo and Liz are the only ones who've been able to get her to eat anything, she won't talk and she rarely sleeps. Her doctor is considering putting her on bed rest with all the stress she's been put through. It's been affecting the babies pretty bad."

As if on cue, she lets out another whimper and shifts slightly in her sleep. The men watch as her stomach noticeably moves and she lets out a groan. Abe reaches out and puts his hand on the glass of his tank. He 'touches' the minds of the babes, calming them and allowing their mother to get some more sleep.

"I'll leave you two to get some rest," HB says as Dr. Jones walks in. "Guillermo and Liz are waiting for a report. I'll catch you later, buddy."

With that, Hellboy exits while the doctor examines the readouts from the monitors on the tank. After that's complete, the doctor asks the usual questions and Abe gives him the expected answers. Jones makes a few adjustments to the machines before pushing a certain button and almost instantly Abe starts to feel relief from the pain.

"Now, Abe, due to your unique physical make up, I want to keep you under observation for at least another week," Jones states as he looks over the readouts again. "And while I don't mind her visiting, could you please convince your wife to stop sleeping in here? I'm always afraid I'm going to step on her. Plus, Dr. Hodson has been having fits about her sleeping on the floor."

"I'll see what I can do," Abe quietly says as he starts to feel a bit light headed.

"Thank you, Abe," Jones responds as he starts to head for the door. "I'll check back on you in a few hours, so try and get some rest."

"Of course, doctor," Abe replies, feeling the drugs taking a stronger hold on him.

He tries to shake off the effects of his medicine, but it's a hopeless battle. He doesn't want to sleep, he wants to think and ponder his 'unique physical make up.' Just before he loses the fight, Maggie wakes and looks up at him, blinking groggily, she smiles at him.

"Go to bed," he mumbles as darkness starts to tinge his vision.

"You want me to leave?" she asks, confused and sad.

He manages to nod just before he loses consciousness once more. With a groan, she staggers to her feet and stands there unsteadily for a couple minutes watching him the whole time, hands flattened against the glass. After she leaves the infirmary, she stumbles her way through the underground passages until she reaches the secret entrance to her house. Once she finally reaches her bedroom, she crawls into her bed. The soft mattress eases the aches of her body, but it does nothing to ease the ache in her heart.