I partially opened my eyes and saw that I was no longer on my bed, but in a breeze swept field. I opened my eyes completely and saw that the field was about the size of a baseball field and was filled with lush grass and wildflowers. Around the edge of the field were willows and oaks swaying in the light breeze. I turned my head to look behind me and saw something I had wished to see for over a year; Damian was sitting on a rock near the edge of the clearing.
I struggled to me feet and walked as swiftly as I could without falling to my brother's side. "Damian!" I threw my arms around his neck. Then I realized you can't hug a ghost unless… "How many of us are dead?" I slid my arms to his shoulders so I could look in his eyes.
"Cara, my dear sister, we both are." he saw the tears begin to fall down my cheeks. "Hush, Cara, just listen to me." I nodded weakly. "You can go back, Cara; you have the strongest tie possible to the living. Or should I say one of the living?" a smile lit up with youthful yet serious face.
"Abe…" I murmured. "He made it!" I cried out and hugged my brother again. He rubbed slow circles on my back like he had since we were little children. "He's still alive. Oh thank Paladine he survived." I whispered against Damian's shoulder.
"Yes, he did. But you didn't. You have only a short time to return, so you best be going." When I clung tighter to him, he understood what I meant. "Don't worry, Cara; I'll come to visit you soon. But I have missions of my own to complete in this life." I nodded against his neck. "And will you please tell father that I'm alright… and that I miss him." Tears began to flow down Damian's cheeks as well.
"He misses you too, you know. He's had Flint and I searching for you ever since you were, were… well, you know." I began to laugh and cry at the same time now, remembering our usually cynical father tearing up and being at a loss of words.
"And when you go back, you'd better give Abraham the you-know-what and explain everything. I hope he's a good man; but even if he is, he's nowhere near good enough for my little sister." He laughed and then kissed my forehead. We may be twins, but with that one minute head-start from me, he always looked out for me like an older brother; probably because my powers were harder to control, as were my emotions. And because I had been a frail young child, much like our father. Coincidentally, he had also been the younger twin, a minute younger than our uncle, Caramon.
I nodded and stood when Damian did. He led me to a tree with a forked trunk. In between the main branches, the light seemed to bend and shimmer. "I'll miss you, Damian." I whispered over my shoulder to my brother who I was about to lose, again.
"I already miss you, Cara." He said as he gently pushed me through the portal back to the world of the living.
Lights flashed all around me and I had to close my eyes from the brightness. The ring hanging around my neck began to burn and I clasped it in my hand. Then it felt like I was being punched by someone as
strong as Hellboy on every inch of my body. Then it all stopped. My lungs took in a sharp intake of breath, causing me to moan in pain. Then something underneath me moved; I remembered that I had collapsed onto Abe before I had… died. My eyes fluttered open and I saw the smiling face of the person whose love had allowed me to come back from the grave.
"Cara!" he gasped. He shifted underneath me quickly so that I was cradled in his arms against his chest. "Oh, Cara, I thought I had lost you." Before I could respond, his lips were on mine. It was much more urgent then the kisses at the park, but just as loving.
As we slowly broke apart, I looked up into his big blue and black eyes and prepared to tell him all of the truth. "Likewise. And you did lose me Abe; I did die. I was in this meadow place and Damian was there. He told me that I could come back because, because; Abe, what I'm about to tell you might startle you. But I swear it is true." I took a deep breath and thought of a way to explain it all. "Are you familiar with the term 'soul mates'?"
"Of course. But what does that have to do with…" he looked down at me with sudden understanding in his eyes. "What you mean to say is that, we're…"
"Not in that exact terminology or mechanics; but it was closest comparison I could come up with." I took another deep breath and looked down from his gaze. "The deities of my home, and the demigods like me, are occasionally matched with someone called their 'heart's shepherd.' That's what you are. In an instance like this, it is impossible for me to fall in love with another. Not that I would want to." I teased, returning my eyes to his.
Abe pulled me closer to him and rested his forehead against mine. "This is the best news you could ever have told me beside what you told me last night." I smiled but knew he wasn't being completely honest. That may be the truth for what he wanted for us, but not what he wanted in general. He still longed for something that his wife from his past life could not give him, and something I couldn't either. But now it was for scientific reasons rather than an inability, I think.
"And I have something to give you that officially gives my heart to you." I pulled away from him. I looked down to the ring around my neck. I reached inside it and pulled out a small emerald from a groove near the back. I leaned forward towards him again and slid the stone in behind the one in his pendant. There was a bright flash of light, but everything soon settled.
Abe leaned his head down toward mine and our lips met again. He slid his hands to the small of my back and back of my neck while mine made their way up his arms. Soon I found that he was leaning me down into the bed and following suit. A few warnings went off in my head, but ignored them; for I was too wrapped up in the kiss. Only did I listen to them when his hand started to explore beneath the back of my shirt. I broke the kiss and seized his hand in my own and removed it from under my shirt. "Abe," I cautioned. "Could you cool it a little, sparky?" I laughed. It was something Damian had picked up from comic books and had used it to describe someone who was over eager about something. I thought that Abe was matching that description perfectly.
"Oh, I'm very sorry, Cara. I guess I got sort of, carried away." He began to lean back, but I tightened my hold on his shoulders to keep him still.
"It's alright. I just got a little startled." He nodded and quickly pressed his lips back onto mine. After a moment or two, he did one of the last things I thought he would after I partially reprimanded him: he deepened the kiss. Now, I had never done any of this before, so I was just following his lead. It was probably the most enjoyable thing in the world; knowing that Abe cared for me this way and that I was able to care for him back without having to lie to him about my feelings.
Just as Abe's hand had snaked back under my shirt and was starting to move it upward, a deep and full hearted laughter erupted from the sitting room. Abe broke the kiss and looked to the sound. He turned about as white as his shirt from last night and quickly rolled away from me. This was also the first time I noticed that he had his collar device on. I leaned my head back to see what the sound had come from that had caused such an odd reaction from Abe. I gasped and covered my face with my hands before the unwelcome visitor could see me turn as red as my familiar.
It was Hellboy. "My, oh my; is this what you two have been up to while we were away? But I thought the dragon said something about you guys being dead." He let loose another hearty laugh. "I think you two were very much alive." I groaned and curled up into a ball. But from where I was lying, I could still see Abe throw Hellboy a death glare.
Since I obviously wasn't going to say anything, Abe stepped up to cover our reputations against our annoying and fantastical teammate. "Nothing like that happened! And one of us was dead; Cara gave her life to save me, but was given a chance to come back. Someone took a shot at us last night while we were in the park, I was hit, and Cara used a spell far too powerful to heal me and wound up killing herself. But then she saw her brother and he told her that she had the strongest tie with the living possible, and that she was allowed a second chance. And what you so rudely walked in on was my reaction to news that Cara gave me; news that I shall not tell you unless she agrees." I had seen out of the corner of my eye the look that Hellboy had given Abe when he had mentioned news. Abe turned to me for an answer to his conditions. I shook my head furiously, still covering my face. "Then there you have it."
I finally had control of myself and so I sat up to face Hellboy. "Well, what did you want?" I sounded just as angry as I felt.
"Well, your familiar thing said something about you guys being dead, so Krauss sent me to check on you. And we also found that our mission was a hoax; there was no recruit and Manning's signature was forged." Hellboy never wiped his smirk off his face, and it was getting kind of annoying. "Hey, Abe, what's around your neck?" Oh great, Hellboy had noticed the pendant. This was going to be interesting.
I decided to answer, since Abe knew about as much about it as Hellboy did. I let out a sigh to prove my impatience. "It's a transformation charm I gave Abe last night. It allows him to become human for as long as he wants. He used it so we could walk around the city." I didn't mind mentioning the date; since I was pretty sure Hellboy had something to do with it.
Hellboy just nodded and walked out of the room. "Well, I'll see you two love birds at breakfast in a few hours." Abe and I didn't move until we heard the door shut and the lock turn.
I fell back onto the bed from my sitting position and groaned. Abe quickly darted to my side and lightly grasped my shoulders."I'm so sorry, Cara. I'll speak to him about this later." He let out a low growl before I put my finger to his lips.
"Shh, Abe; it's alright."I tried to stifle the yawn coming up; but failed miserably. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to sleep for the few hours that I can." Abe nodded and began to move away, but then stopped.
"I'll go back to my tank; unless you of course, you want me to stay." I nodded and smiled before moving to the dresser. I pulled out the loose fitting pants and the black camisole that I usually wore to bed.
When Abe shot me a questioning look, I shrugged. "What? I don't really want to sleep in jeans that have your bloodstains on them." He nodded and hopped off the bed. He pulled off his bloodstained jeans to reveal his black water shorts that he wore when in his tank. I laughed slightly at his apparent permanent readiness to enter the water.
I quickly changed in the bathroom and walked back to the bed. Abe let out a soft whistle before I lightly slapped him in the head and slipped into bed. "You know," he whispered in my ear. "This is the first time in over one hundred years I've ever slept in a bed; especially with someone else."
His cool breath tickled my ear as I responded as nonchalantly as possible. "Well, then I bid you to sleep well." At that I slipped into a light slumber.
I awoke to the simultaneous sound of my alarm clock and Abe jumping about a foot off the bed. I laughed as I turned off the clock and slid out of bed. Abe laughed nervously as he joined me in the sitting room; he had is jeans draped over his arm. "Well, I best be getting back to my room." I nodded before he gave me a quick kiss on the lips as he walked to and out the door.
Just then, Bahia trotted in from the bathroom, having already taken her bath. At least nothing actually happened between you two. I might have had to bite him for your brother's sake.
I nodded as I went to the bathroom to follow the hatchling's example and take a bath. I stepped out feeling a little better. I quickly dressed and prepared to leave for breakfast when I decided to grab the arrow to show it to Krauss. Maybe he would be able to gather more information than I already knew.
When I opened the door, Abe was there; of course. We walked to breakfast in silence, our minds both off on different tracks. When we entered the dining hall, I veered off to the left to talk to Krauss. I pulled him aside to show him the arrow. "Professor, this is the arrow that hit Abe in the stomach last night."
I handed it to him carefully; for one scratch from the tip on me and the poison would kill me, again. "I see, Cara. You did a good job removing it. The dragon told me what you did to save Agent Sapien; and I'm proud of you. It took great courage and belief to do that."
"Or something else." I smiled down toward the ground.
Krauss sighed as if he knew what I was talking about, but I made sure not to acknowledge so as not to raise suspicions. "And, Cara; there was something that I have discovered recently that I think you might want to know." I raised an eyebrow in question and conveying for Krauss to continue. "Well, I have learned that Hellboy is, well; he's your cousin Cara."
"My what?!"