Part I: Bored to Death

Chapter: Goodbye

Hellboy sat in a large armchair, in the corner of a small and plain hospital room, keeping an eye on Myers.

There was a monitor to observe his heart rate, sure, but Hellboy didn't really trust it was enough. Someone needed to be here, in case the kid woke up. Or something bad happened.

He wasn't still sure Myers would make it, no matter what the doctors said, so he kept watching over his friend. Even if it meant that he couldn't even smoke his cigar - damn the hospital regulations!

It had been two days now.

Hellboy took a look at Myers' face, but it only made him feel worse. The kid looked like shit. His skin was pale, his lips bluish and his eyes were surrounded by dark circles. There were several cannulas and monitors hooked up to him, and Hellboy didn't even want to know what they all did. The bottom line was, that Myers looked more dead than alive, and it hurt Hellboy more than he liked to admit.

Besides, it would suck big time to have to tell Kat, that Myers had died. It had been bad enough to make the call, that both Myers and Margot were injured and unconscious. Kat had gone mental, and it had took him half a night to convince her, it would do no good if she flew to Europe now.

"I'll tell you the moment either one of them wakes up, alright?" he had promised Kat. But still she kept calling him almost every hour, just to check if there was any change. Which there, of course, wasn't.

Hellboy had been buried deep in his thoughts, and was startled when the door suddenly opened. He stood up from his chair, to face the door.

"Margot!" he said, recognizing the petite figure, who stepped in. "Hey, you're up! Great! You sure scared us."

"Yeah? Sorry about that." Margot gave him a small smile, but it was obvious her heart wasn't in it. "Are you ok? Seem's like you've been hit by a truck."

"Nah, just a swarm of imps." Hellboy shrugged. "Nothing I haven't seen before."

"Nice. I can totally see why Kat likes you."

"Huh?" Hellboy blushed internally. "Say what?"

"Forget about it." Margot shook her head, turning her gaze to the figure on the bed. It wasn't until then that Hellboy noticed how weak she still seemed. She looked like she could topple over any second - her face was just as pale as Myers' and she seemed to be shaking slightly. She was only wearing a pink hospital gown, a robe and slippers, that were all too big for her, and she looked like a child who's got lost.

"So, how is he? Is he gonna be alright?" Margot asked then, her eyes still in Myers' face.

"In time." Hellboy shrugged. "But damn, it sucks to see him like this. I've gotten used to him."

Margot lay her hand carefully on Myers' shoulder and closed her eyes. She stayed still for a short moment, the only sound in the dim room, her light breathing, and the beeping of the heart monitor. When she finally opened her eyes, and turned them to Hellboy, there was a hint of relief in them.

"He's sleeping." Margot whispered. "I think he'll wake up soon enough."

Finally some good news!

"That's great! He'll be thrilled to see you."

"No, Red." Margot looked suddenly scared, and took a step back, away from the bed. "I won't be here. I'm leaving."

"What?" he felt like he was missing something.

"It's better this way. Even better, if you'll never tell him that I was here at all. Or that I had anything to do with his recovery. Can you promise me that, Red?"

"What? No! That's just stu-"

"Stupid?" Margot smirked. "I get that a lot lately. But that's how it has to be. He must never know, Red, and you will promise me not to tell, or I'll have to wipe it from your mind."

"Wow, there's a bargain." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Fine, have it your way. But if you ask me, you should just stick around and face him."

"Well, I'm not asking you." she snapped. "Nothing good would come out of it. I've messed his head enough already - it must end now."

There were red spots burning on Margot's cheeks now, and her voice was strained. What the hell was the reason for her stubbornness, he didn't know.

"Damn, the kid is in love with you! Why won't you give him a chance. You'd make a great couple."

"How can you say that?!" Margot looked at him, and she seemed truly horrified. "I can't do that to John. I am not human."

"Neither am I."

"It's different. You have Kat, you're perfect together."

"True." said Hellboy shrugging. "But still-"

"Don't. Can't you see?" Margot's voice was thin and stretched, her hands shaking slightly. "Just look at him, Red. This is where falling in love with me has brought him. Do you really think I'm good for him?"

"Him doing his job, is what got him here." Hellboy grunted. "Not you."

"He wanted to go in first." Margot's voice almost failed her. "It should've been me. I should've taken the bullets, not him. He went in first, because he wanted to keep me safe."

"Oh, that stupid kid." Hellboy took a look at Myers. "He's just like that."

"No, stupid me." Margot corrected. "The worst team leader in the history of mankind."

"Don't be like that. You saved him." Hellboy argued. "He would be dead without you."

"No, I put him on harms way. It was my fault." There was a haunted look in her eyes, a look that told Hellboy that no matter what he said, she wouldn't really hear him. She had made up her mind, and there was no changing it.

He began to think, it would've been better to let Kat come after all. She would know what to do, what to say. She'd make Margot see none of this was her fault, and she'd make sure, that little redhead wouldn't break John's heart for some stupid nonsense.

That was just what Hellboy liked in Kat. She was honest and upright. No stupid chick problems with her.

"Just hear me out." Hellboy tried again. "You see, Myers, he's a good kid. And he has the hots for you, bad time. You can't just leave him like this - it'll break him!"

"No, Red. You don't understand. You look at me, and you think I'm just a pretty girl. But you're mistaken. I'm no girl. I'm no human. I killed those people back there. I ripped their hearts out of their chests. And I did it just like that, like it meant nothing to me. I did it, because I could."

"They shot Myers, and they were going to shoot you too."

"There were other ways to stop them. It wouldn't have been necessary to kill."

"Well..." Hellboy found it really hard to argue with Margot. Damn, he knew she was right.

"What does that make me, Red? A murderer?" she asked, staring at him, her whole body tense and strained.

"It makes you a human."

She gave a bitter laugh. "No. You're more human than I'll ever be. I am a monster. I am a weapon. You should hunt me down and kill me while you can."

"Nonesense. Yeah, there might have been a better way to deal with the bad guys, but I totally see why you were pissed! The bastards shot Myers." He pointed a finger to his friend, as if to underline his words. "They had it coming."

But Margot didn't answer. She turned to look at Myers again, and there was something in the way she looked at him, that made Hellboy feel he needed to be somewhere else.

"You want some privacy?" he asked. "Not that he'll hear you, but-"

"No, it's fine." Margot said. "I won't stay long."

She finally sat down on a chair by his bed, and silently picked a pair of rubber gloves from a box on the table, and pulled them on. Only then, did she touch him, placing her hand gently on the side of his head, running her fingers through his dark hair.

"Thad…" she whispered. "I'm sorry. Please, forgive me."

With agony Hellboy watched, as Margot began to cry. Her delicate shoulders were shaking with her sobs, tears ran down her face and she did nothing to wipe them off. Her hand was still in his hair, light, barely touching him - not to cause him distress, Red reckoned.

Damn, Hellboy hated it when girls cried! What was a man to do in a situation like this?

If only Kat was here! She always knew how to handle things.

But it seemed Margot didn't even remember that he was in the room at all. She kept crying silently for a long time, not saying a word.

Now would be a really good time to wake up, kiddo. Hellboy thought to himself. But no such luck. Myers stayed unconscious, and oblivious to the fact that the love of his life, was crying her eyes out for him.

But finally Margot ran out of tears, and she stopped sobbing. For some time still, she sat on the chair, seeing nothing but Myers. Her hand caressed his hair, followed the line of his unshaved jaw, brushed his lips ever so gently. The longing in her eyes cut right through Red's heart.

If that's not love I see, I don't know what is. He thought to himself.

It did no good, though. Margot had made up her mind. With a sigh, she finally let go of Myers' and stood up.

She turned her piercing eyes to Hellboy, and said: "If he asks if I was here, lie. Tell him I left without even asking about him."

"Yeah, yeah." Hellboy grunted. "I'll try."

"Good." her eyes wandered to Myers one more time, but swiftly she turned away, turned her back to him and walked unsteadily to the door. "It was really good to meet you, Red. Please, give my love to Kat. Tell her… tell her I'll call her when I'm ready."

"And where are you gonna go?" Hellboy asked.

Margot, her pale fingers already on the door knob, turned to face him.

"To tell my Dad he was right."