"I tell you, that girl has had some crazy ideas over the years," Susan quietly chuckles after relating one of Maggie's more inventive plans from her childhood. "Did you know that she wanted to save the placentas from the babies? Said she wants to put them under a couple of plants in honor of the birth of the twins. Sometimes I seriously wonder about her sanity."
"Actually, she did save them," Peg informs Susan as she drives the car through the gate to Cavendish Acres. "And from what I understand, they're excellent fertilizer provided you don't bury them directly under the plant."
"Oh, merciful heavens, please tell me you are joking," Susan pleads, horrified.
"Nope," Peg replies. "They're in the freezer. Triple bagged."
Susan noticeably blanches this news as they make their way up the drive. Peg drives the car up to the front of the house and has to suddenly stop when she comes around the bend as her way is blocked by a large flatbed truck with a huge crate strapped onto the bed with the words 'LIVE CARGO' written on the side.
"Where the heck did that thing come from?" Peg asks as she stares at the huge vehicle. "And what could they possibly be moving that's big enough to fit in that crate?"
"Oh, good heavens," Susan mutters. "I certainly hope Margaret didn't decide to ship Magick out here."
"Who and or what is a Magick?" Peg inquires, finally tearing her eyes off of the truck and turning to her passenger.
"Magick is Margaret's horse," Susan answers. "A big black beast of an animal and the most foul tempered creature I have ever had the displeasure of knowing."
"The crate isn't big enough for a horse," Peg points out as the first raindrops start to hit the windshield. "And we're never going to find out what was in there sitting in the car. Let's get inside quickly; it's starting to rain again."
The two women hurriedly get out of the car, unload the trunk and get inside just as the rain starts to seriously come down. They stop just inside the door as they see a strange man comes wandering into the entryway. Susan recognizes him as he steps into the light and her heart nearly stops.
"Good evening, Mrs. Cavendish," the young man greets Susan before turning to Peg. "You must be Mrs. Steele."
"Yes, I am," Peg replies, perplexed.
"Hi, I'm Agent John Myers," John continues cheerfully, but a bit nervously.
"Please tell me he isn't here," Susan interrupts.
"Um, yes, ma'am, I'm afraid he is," John responds with an apologetic smile.
"Who's here?" Peg questions, completely confused.
Before either one of them can answer, a large red figure steps into the entryway.
"Hey, Myers…," he starts but is interrupted by an ear piercing shriek.
Peg is screaming at the top of her lungs and has gone from calm human being to panicked animal in 0.03 seconds. She turns to run back the way she came but is stopped by Susan and John. They hold onto the struggling woman as she tries to make a break for it out into the pouring rain.
"Geez, Red, couldn't you have waited?" John asks as he struggles with the scared woman.
Before Hellboy can respond, people are running to see what the screaming is about from all over the house. Steven all but runs Hellboy over when he sees his mother frightened out of her wits.
"MOM!" Steven yells as he pulls his mother into his arms. "MOM! IT'S ALL RIGHT!"
A wide eyed Peg stops struggling and looks up at her son in surprise and disbelief.
"It's ok," Steven assures her in a quieter voice and holding her tighter in a comforting hug. "Hellboy is a good guy."
"He-He-Hell-Hellboy is r-r-r-real?" Peg stutters as she clings to Steven.
"Yes, Mom, he's real," Steven confirms. "He's the one who called Dr. Hodson."
"He's really real?" Peg asks, not taking her eyes off of Steven.
"Yes, Mom, he's really real," Steven smiles as he starts to move further into the house. "Come on; let's get you sitting down and then get you something to drink."
"I'll go make her some tea," Susan offers as she makes her way through the throng of people.
"And he's a good guy?" Peg inquires in a quavering voice while she lets Steven lead her towards the parlor.
"Yes, Mom, he's a good guy," Steven chuckles as they make their way through the crowd.
A moment later they disappear through the door, Steven still reassuring his mother that Hellboy is real and a good guy.
"Guess I blew it, huh?" Hellboy asks rhetorically while staring after them.
"YOU THINK?" most everyone yells out at him, startling the big guy.
"Geez, don't have get on my case about it," he grumbles.
"Here, Red, why don't you take Trevor for a walk until things calm down," Liz suggests as she hands her very large son to his father.
"Fine, I'll go get lost," HB grumbles.
"Actually, that's entirely possible in this place," Guillermo chuckles. "Come on, I'll show you around."
With that, Guillermo leads Hellboy out of the entrance way. A few people don't clear the way in time and get thwacked by an agitated tail as it passes.
A short time later, and after moving the truck closer to the abandoned stables behind the house, Ron and John go off in search of dinner in one of the borrowed cars. Over an hour later they return with more than fifty pizzas. By the time they get back, Peg has calmed down and been properly introduced to Hellboy, Liz and Trevor. In fact, Peg is even playing with Trevor on the floor of the parlor when dinner arrives as Susan, Sharon and Vicki look on.
"My goodness, he's a solid little guy," Peg observes as Trevor climbs into her lap on his quest to explore.
"He's nineteen pounds now," Liz tells her.
"Vicki is only twenty-five pounds and she's nearly two," Sharon exclaims as Vicki stares intently at Trevor.
"Puppy?" Vicki asks her mother as she points at the wandering infant.
"No, sweetie, that's a baby," Sharon quietly chuckles. "His name is Trevor."
"Tevor?" Vicki questions.
"That's right, honey, Trevor," Sharon smiles.
"Puppy Tevor!" Vicki exclaims excitedly while clapping her hands and bouncing up and down, causing everyone to laugh.
"Hey, dinner's here," Ron announces after sticking his head in the room, loaded down with pizza boxes.
"Pizza! Great, I'm starved," Hellboy grins as he gets up and heads for the door.
"You're always hungry," Liz teases as HB passes Ron, relieving the man of the pizza boxes.
"Hey!" Hellboy objects as exits the room and heads down the hall.
A short time later, everyone is seated in the dinning room eating dinner with Hellboy regaling everyone with stories of some of his more memorable missions and Abe occasionally correcting him when the big guy gets a little too elaborate. About halfway through dinner, the doorbell rings and everyone stops in mid-chew and looks towards the door that leads to the hallway. John looks at his watch and the color leaves his face.
"He's early," John mutters.
"Who's early?" Sharon asks after swallowing.
"Dr. Manning," he mumbles, cringing, waiting for the explosion.
"WHAT?" most everyone screams.
There's general confusion and pandemonium as all four of the children start to cry, startled by the sudden noise. Parents scramble to calm their kids as John starts to shrink down in his chair under the glare of Susan, Dr. Hodson and Guillermo. Steven and Peg look totally confused as the children are calmed down enough for the adults to start talking again.
"I cannot imagine for one second that Dr. Manning has come here to see the babies," Susan begins, still staring at John. "So I would dearly love to know what he is doing here."
"He's here to make sure Abe, Maggie and the babies come back to New Jersey," John answers in a tiny voice. "He wants them to leave tonight."
There's more yelling and the kids start crying again. Everyone is so busy either trying to calm a child or berate John for not telling them sooner about the director's visit, that no one notices the doorbell ringing again or Steven leaving the room.
Steven sedately walks down the hall away from the hullabaloo going on in the dining room and heads for the front of the house. Just as he's getting close to the door, the bell rings again and is accompanied by someone banging on the door. Steven finally opens the door part way and a bald man wearing an expensive suit is standing on the doorstep with a couple of men dressed in dark suits standing directly behind him. If the FBI did recruiting posters, those two would be on it.
"May I help you?" Steven asks.
"I'm Dr. Tom Manning and I'm here to see Mrs. Sapien," Manning answers.
"I'm sorry, she's busy right now, I'll let her know that you called," Steven replies as he softly shuts the door in Manning's stunned face and then throws the dead bolt as an added precaution.
After making sure the rest of the entrances are sealed, Steven calmly heads back to the dinning room completely ignoring the sounds of the doorbell being repeatedly rung, someone banging on the door and yelling. When he returns, the children have mostly been calmed down and everyone turns questioning eyes towards him. Steven shuts the door, retakes his seat and quietly starts eating again as Abe starts laughing.
"Care to clue us in on the joke?" Hellboy growls.
"Steven shut the door in Manning's face," Abe gasps.
There's a moment of silence before just about everyone starts snickering, giggling or just outright laughing. John thumps his head against the table as Peg stares at her son.
"That wasn't very nice," Peg points out.
"And neither is interrupting our dinner," Steven states just before taking a large bite of pizza.
"I am so dead," John mutters as he continues to bang his head on the table.
"Nah, you're good, squirt," Hellboy assures the agent. "According to your contract, only two people can fire you. The president and Pop, and since Pop isn't in any position to do anything, I think you're safe for now. Besides, if Manning tries anything, I'll just have to have a talk with him."
"Manning may not be able to fire me, but he can sure make my life a miserable living hell," John moans. "And now I've got a headache."
"Now that's your own fault," Liz tells John before turning to the others. "Not to be a kill joy, but there are other doors that Manning can get through."
"I sealed them after I shut the front door," Steven informs her.
The sound of someone thumping on the dinning room window makes everyone jump. They turn and see a wet and angry Manning banging his fist on the glass. Suddenly, the curtains blow themselves closed, blocking out the view of the very upset director.
"He's not going to go away you know," Abe states.
"He can at least wait until we're done eating," Susan replies as she pulls another slice of pizza out of its box.
About half an hour later, after dinner is finished, the dishes have been put in the dishwasher, the babies have been fed and two of them been put to bed, the front door is finally opened to a cold, wet and thoroughly ticked off Manning. After his wet coat is taken and he's given a towel to dry off, he's led to the parlor where the others are waiting and he's given something warm to drink. Proper introductions are given and Manning scowls at Steven when they're introduced. Steven, for his part, keeps a bland look on his face.
"Ok, Manning, cut to the chase," Hellboy starts. "What're ya doing here?
"I'm here to make sure that all of my agents get back to where they belong," Manning replies. "And for security reasons, make sure their children are with them."
"Dr. Manning, if you think for one moment I'm going to let you haul Maggie and the babies clear across the country when she gave birth less than thirty-six hours ago, you've got another thing coming," Hodson states heatedly. "I will not let you, or any one else for that matter, move them until I feel that it is safe to do so."
"And how long will that be?" Manning asks.
"At least six weeks," Hodson answers.
"I can have you replaced you know," Manning threatens.
"And by the time you find a doctor that's both a gynecologist and a pediatrician and get him or her through your security checks and get them clearance, the six weeks will be long gone," Hodson points out. "Out of curiosity, how long did it take you to find me and get all the checks run on me?"
"Three months," Manning quietly grumbles.
"So, for now, Maggie and the twins stay here until I've given them a clean bill of health," Hodson replies.
"Fine, Mrs. Sapien and the twins can stay here for now, but Abe is coming back tonight," Manning demands
"Does anyone care what I want?" Maggie asks softly as she repositions Morgan in her arms.
"And what do you want?" Manning questions, scowling at the new mother.
"I want to be with my husband and children and to be left alone," she answers as Abe wraps his free arm around her shoulders, careful not to jostle Dylan. "Dr. Hodson, I understand that you need to stay and that's fine. And Grandmother and Peg, I would like it if the both of you could stay for a while longer. But could the rest of you please go home? It's not that I don't love all of you and that I don't appreciate what you've done for me these past seven weeks, but it's just that it's getting too much for me. I just want for things to be a simple, even if it's only for a little while."
"Are you kicking us out right now?" Sharon asks, obviously hurt.
"I'm not asking you to leave at this moment," Maggie amends. "But if over the next couple of days, if there could be fewer bodies in this house, I would be very grateful."
"Fine, Dr. Hodson, you and the babies can stay, but Abe is returning with Hellboy," Manning repeats.
"I need Abe here," Maggie responds. "He's staying."
"He's going back," Manning snaps. "I'll take him by force if necessary."
"You and what army?" Maggie asks in a soft dangerous voice.
Manning opens his mouth to reply, but a sudden pain in his chest stops him. It feels like he can't draw in a breath of air and he can feel his temperature rising as well. He looks at Maggie with a mixture of surprise and fear written across his face. As quickly as all that began, it just as suddenly stops. He takes several deep breaths as he clings to the arms of the chair he is in. After he finally regains his composure, he turns an accusing glare at Maggie.
"You did that, didn't you?" he snarls.
"And if I did?" Maggie answers. "I think you get my point. In six weeks you may return and we will discuss weather or not Abe, the twins and I will be going back to New Jersey."
With that, Maggie gets up and leaves the room with Abe in her wake. The others sit in silence for several minutes before anyone dares break the quiet.
"What just happened?" Hodson asks.