Maggie is out of the bed in a flash and with barely more than a thought, the door to her room is suddenly nothing more than splinters scattered across the floor. She charges out the doorway so fast that she bounces off the wall opposite her room. It barely slows her down as she charges down the hall towards the sound of her children.
She nearly flies down the stairs and as she approaches the bottom she can see the agent trying to hold onto the babies as they scream and squirm away from this stranger. There's another man there attempting to get the agent out the door as quickly as possible. Maggie doesn't need to see his face to know who it is. She intends to end this once and for all as she starts pulling the Power to her.
As the side of the crate is lifted into place, Abe's heart sinks even lower, knowing that he is really leaving and not sure when he's going to see his family again. Then the sound of the twins screaming in fear hits him like a sludge hammer. Without even thinking, he smashes into the unsecured side of the box, yanking it out of the hands of the startled agents trying to fasten the thing. Abe is out of the crate and through the front door in a matter of seconds.
Once there he finds one of Manning's stooges trying to hold onto the twins as they object to a stranger handling them and Manning is there pushing the agent towards the door, attempting to yell directions above the screeching of the babies. Then he sees Maggie come down the stairs and watches as she spots Manning. The look of worry and fear that is on her face is replaced by pure hatred and he can sense what she's about to do.
They're drifting off to sleep again after the strange keening noise stops, but the screams of the twins jolt the lot of them upright in their beds. Seconds later, the sound of wood being blown into about a million pieces reach their ears. Selma, Rupert, Peg and Susan are out of their beds and in the hall in a matter of moments.
The remains of Maggie's bedroom door are scattered around about a five foot radius from her doorway and Maggie is almost to the stairs. Peg and Susan's doors are past the carnage so they start to follow their granddaughter unhindered. Rupert spends several seconds blowing the splinters to the side of the hall so he and Selma can safely get by. When they are able to pass they follow as quickly as they can and try not to panic from the blood they see on the floor. Part way down the stairs, they can see pure pandemonium taking place.
An agent has the twins and is trying to keep hold of them as Manning is practically pushing him out the door. Agents are running in from everywhere when Abe charges through the door. Then Abe opens his mouth and everything stops.
"MAGGIE! NO!" Abe screams both mentally and physically.
The mental stun is such that Maggie collapses in mid-run, sliding to a stop a few feet later. He doesn't need to be a mind reader to know what she's thinking. The accusing glare speaks volumes. He doesn't even notice that everyone else is slightly stunned and staggering from his psychic shout.
Instead of trying to explain to Maggie his actions Abe steps up to the would be kidnapper and relieves him of the babies. The twins stop screaming but they're still very upset. Before Abe can move, Manning blocks his path.
"Fine, I don't care who gets these kids out to the car, but just do it," Manning orders, having to look up slightly at Abe.
"The twins are staying here with their mother," Abe replies in a quiet but stern voice.
"I said I wanted you and your kids on the plane today last week and I'll have no arguments," Manning demands.
"I'm not arguing," Abe calmly tells him as he steps around the director and heads for his wife. "I'm stating a fact. The children are staying here."
"I'm in charge here!" Manning yells at Abe's back.
"Give it a rest, Manning," Hellboy growls from the front doorway. "The twins are staying."
"You, you, you and you," Manning states pointing at various agents. "Take those kids out to the car and use whatever force necessary to do it."
Four agents pull their guns out as Abe kneels down next to Maggie and four agents almost immediately drop them as they become to hot to handle. They watch in stunned disbelief as their weapons become a melted mixture of plastic and metal.
"Good one, Sparky," Hellboy quietly chuckles to Liz who's standing next to him.
"Thanks," Liz responds, smiling up to her husband as Manning steps up behind Abe.
"Those kids are top secret government property!" Manning shouts to everyone as Abe hands the twins over to their mother. "And I want them out in the car NOW!"
Not even the Mages have time to react as Abe turns around in his crouch and springs up running, slamming Manning into the wall behind him. Manning gasps in surprise and then for air as the angry merman pins him with a blue arm just under his neck, nearly cutting off the director's air. Abe is so angry that he's turned such a dark blue to be nearly black and his eyes are glowing red.
"They stay with their mother," Abe hisses through clenched teeth. "You ever try to pull this shit again and I'll let Maggie kill you as she had intended."
With that, Abe shoves himself away from Manning, turns on his heel and storms over to his wife who's still on the floor holding the twins. Manning collapses to the floor, gasping for air as the agents stand around unsure of what to do next. Guillermo finally pops his head in the front door around Hellboy's bulky frame and only sees the aftermath of the incident.
"What'd I miss?" he asks.
"Manning tried to sneak the twins out of the house," Hellboy replies.
"What for?" Guillermo inquires.
"He was planning on bring them back to the bureau," Hellboy answers.
"Without Maggie?" Guillermo says in amazed wonder. "He still breathing?"
"Only just," Hellboy snickers, nodding towards the director who's only now getting up off of the ground.
"What are those blobs on the floor?" Guillermo questions.
"Oh, you missed it," Hellboy grins as he drapes an arm around Liz's shoulders. "Sparky melted four guns at once."
"You did?" Guillermo asks excitedly to Liz who blushes a bit and nods. "Excellent work, my dear, excellent work."
Meanwhile, Abe goes over to Maggie, his color quickly returning to normal at the sight of his family. Maggie gives him a sad smile as he leans over and tries to help her to her feet. She lets out a pained whimper the instant she tries to put weight on her foot. Abe looks at the bottom of her foot and then blinks at her in surprise.
"Dare I ask how you got splinters in your foot?" he asks.
"I believe Maggie didn't feel like bothering with the doorknob so she destroyed her bedroom door," Rupert replies as he and Selma take the last few steps into the foyer, his ears still ringing from Abe's shout.
"Well, that explains the blood on the floor," Selma states with a sigh of relief. "At first I was worried that it was from the twins."
"Will someone please bring me my medical bag?" Abe requests of no one and everyone.
John is the first to move and he quickly leaves to go retrieve the bag in question. He swiftly slips past Hellboy and as they're waiting, Manning steps toward the family but is stopped by Hellboy grabbing the director by the back of his expensive jacket in a stone hand.
"Why don't you and I go have a talk," Hellboy suggests as he walks Manning out the door, the director's feet only just touching the floor.
Maggie and the twins are moved to the parlor so they can be more comfortable as Susan goes off to retrieve towels to protect the furniture, returning a short time later. Soon after Maggie is settled on the couch with her feet propped up on the coffee table, cushioned by the towels, Abe is taking a closer look at her feet by the light of a lamp that has had its shade removed.
"Some of these are very deep," he observes. "I should numb the area before I remove them."
"How are you going to numb the area?" Maggie whimpers.
"I'll give you a shot," Abe answers calmly causing a whine to escape her throat. "I know you don't like needles, love, but it's better than trying to remove them without the Novocain."
"Says you," she grumbles childishly.
She starts to squirm around, uncomfortable with the thought of getting stuck with a needle even though the splinters are really starting to hurt. Now that the adrenalin is wearing off, the exhaustion, pain and worry are combining to make her entire body shake. The twins start to pick up on their mother's state of mind and they begin to whimper.
"Hush, loves," Maggie coos to the little ones. "I'm sorry. Mommy didn't mean to upset you."
"Maybe you should feed them while I take care of your feet," Abe suggests as John walks in with Abe's bag. "Just pay attention to them and ignore what I'm doing."
"How am I supposed to ignore being poked in the foot with a sharp pointy object?" she sullenly demands as she hands the twins to Peg and Selma.
"Just think of it as one of the splinters that's already in there," he calmly replies as he starts to take out the necessary equipment.
"That's not helpful," she growls as she latches the first baby on.
"Just don't watch," he replies as he stabs the needle into a rubber topped glass bottle, pumps air from the syringe into the bottle and then pulls the clear liquid into the syringe.
Maggie whimpers again and unconsciously starts to pull her legs towards her body. Abe grabs the ankle of the closer leg and holds onto it while she continues to try and draw it back as he attempts to inject the Novocain into the squirming body part. Abe isn't having much luck getting the needle anywhere near the foot, much less into the skin as the leg it's attached too keeps dancing around. It's not until a large red hand grabs hold of the limb that he manages to get the needle in, eliciting a squeal of pain from Maggie.
Between Abe and Hellboy, the shots are finally administered leaving Maggie whimpering and trembling. Fortunately, it's Dylan that is latched on and he's too busy eating to notice his mother's distress. Without Dylan to telepathically bother her, Morgan falls asleep in her grandmother's arms.
"She never liked needles as a child," Selma states without looking at Hellboy or Abe, her eyes on her granddaughter. "Can't say as I'm a fan of them either. And after last week, I could go for a very long time without seeing another one."
"I'm done now," Abe says as he snaps the needle off of the syringe into a little medical hazard box. "I'll give it a few minutes to take effect and then I'll take the splinters out."
"Great," Maggie replies in a slightly higher pitched voice than normal.
Abe quietly chuckles as he sits down on the couch next to her. He takes Dylan from her as soon as he's done eating and hands him off to Peg as Maggie straightens her clothes. He pulls her close and simply holds her, neither one saying a thing.
"Maggie, are you ok?" Dr. Hodson asks, sticking her head into the room. "I only just heard what happened."
"I'll be fine, doctor, thank you," Maggie answers, trying hard not to snivel.
"She'll be even better once I get those splinters out of her feet," Abe puts in.
"Splinters?" Hodson inquires in confusion. "How in the world did you get splinters in your feet?"
"Let's just say I need a new bedroom door," Maggie replies, guiltily sinking down into the cushions of the couch.
"Well, I can't say as I blame you," Hodson muses. "I had told Manning that it would not be good for the twin's health to be separated from you long before this happened. Does the man listen to me? Nooooo. Has to go and do something stupid."
"He won't be doing it again anytime soon," Hellboy smugly assures her.
"Yes, I heard about your little 'chat' with Manning," Hodson responds with a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Have you two ever had a conversation that didn't involve threats of bodily harm?"
"It's happened once or twice," Hellboy smirks.
With a sigh of exasperation, Hodson shakes her head and leaves the room.
"Think I'll go enjoy some fresh air before they stuff me in a crate like some sort of giant toy," Hellboy states to no one as he saunters out of the room.
"Going for a smoke is more like it," Maggie mumbles.
"How do your feet feel?" Abe asks.
"I don't know, they're numb," she grumbles.
"Good," he smiles just before he kisses the tip of her nose.
She just scowls at him as he moves away from her and then sits on the coffee table, taking the first foot into his lap. She tries hard not to squirm as he works, but eventually he has to grab her ankle, face the opposite way and pin foot under his arm against his body to hold it still. Within twenty minutes both feet are splinter free and wrapped in sterile bandages.
Abe scoops her up into his arms and carries her upstairs, Selma and Peg quietly following in their wake. He heads for her room but stops at the sight of Rupert sweeping up the remains of her door. Abe looks down at Maggie and does that oh so familiar head tilt that she loves.
"What?" she asks, feigning rightful indignation. "It was in my way."
He just chuckles and shakes his head as he walks past his father-in-law into the bedroom. He gently tucks her into bed, mindful of her feet. Selma and Peg come in after them, deposit the twins in their crib and then leave.
He sits on the edge of the bed and caresses her face with an ungloved hand. She captures his hand against her face with one of hers and leans her face into the caress, a look of pain and longing crossing her face. He knows it's an emotional pain that has her hurting and he feels the same even if he can't show it the way she can.
He leans over and gently kisses her. The kiss is long and slow and full of love and longing. They would stay that way forever if they could, but like all things, it must come to an end.
"Abe?" Selma softly calls from the door. "They're waiting for you."
"Thank you, Selma," Abe replies without turning around. "I'll be down in a minute."
Silent tears start to fall and he wipes them away with his thumb.
"Try and stay off your feet for a while," he instructs her. "Your feet need time to heal."
"Great, I'm back to being stuck in bed," she gripes.
"I don't know what's worse," he grumbles. "Having you stuck in bed and me not being able to see you or having you stuck in bed and not being here."
"Lecherous beast," she teases with a half smile.
"Wait until you get home," he sexily growls. "I'll show you how lecherous I can be."
A shiver of anticipation runs down her spine causing goose bumps to form and her nipples to harden. He chuckles evilly just before he gives her a quick kiss goodbye and then he leaves. As soon as he's out of sight, she curls up into a ball and starts to cry into her pillow.
When Abe finally reaches the foyer, the only people remaining are Rupert, Selma, Peg and Susan. Peg gives him a quick hug and tells him goodbye before stepping to the side to let the next person say goodbye. Susan is next also gives him a quick hug and as he's stepping past her, he gets a thwack on the shoulder. He turns to stare at the small white haired woman, nictitating membranes swiftly moving in surprise.
"Mind you language," she grumbles as she turns and heads for the kitchen.
"I guess you are now officially part of the family," Rupert says as he steps up to the still slightly dazed merman. "When my mother is willing to swat you for using bad language, it means you've been accepted into the fold. God help you."
"Thanks," Abe chuckles as he turns towards Rupert.
The men shake hands and the final person waiting is Selma. She hugs him, stands on her tip toes and kisses him on the cheek which causes him to turn a slightly darker shade of blue. She smiles at this as she holds onto his hands.
"Take care of yourself, Abe," she says. "Maggie will be there in a few days. And if she isn't, we'll ship her back to you in basket if we have to. Heaven knows she'll be a complete nut case by then anyways, so we might as well."
"Thank you," Abe smiles. "I'll do my best not to become too nutty myself."
With one last wave, Abe exits the house and crosses to his crate. With a heavy heart he climbs into the box which is quickly sealed behind him. A couple minutes later, the engine of the flatbed truck turns over and a moment later he can feel them starting to move. He's finally on his way home and he couldn't be more miserable.