Good Evening Everyone! I hope you have all had a good weekend, so glad it's the half term at the moment! I'm sorry for the slight delay, things have just been so busy, but I also hope you all had a very romantic Valentine's day :) Anyway, here is chapter ten which is a little longer. I know a couple of reviewers have been curious to read, one in particular asking whether there may be a scene between Abe and Belle in this chapter. Well the answer to that will come up in the chapter :) I hope you all enjoy and please review! Thankyou!

Waking up to a soft ringing of her alarm the following morning, Belle stirred slightly, her eyes opening to her new room which she still found herself unaccustomed to. Though as she stood up and went to open her curtains, Belle was greeted to a cold morning, the frost having settled upon the flower petals, though with the winter sun rising; they soon returned to their natural colours. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Belle brought her hair forward over her shoulders as she began to brush through it, a lot of her belongings still in her cases, though she had taken out all she would need for that morning. After putting on a dress with laced sleeves and a slightly gathered skirt at the hem in a shade of midnight blue, Belle then took her long coat and bag, leaving the room quietly, so as not to disturb anyone. Seeing little light until she rounded the corner, Belle then saw the sun that shone through the windows on either side of the front door.

It did feel strange to her, not being on a higher floor in her room or having a large stairway in the hall itself. But none the less, Belle found it to be a warm and pleasant home. Though as she sat down with a hot drink and some toast whilst waiting to be collected, Belle for the first time considered the reaction of any friends who saw her being dropped off and picked up from the school in a chauffeured car...the thought now concerning her and making Belle wish even more that she could use her car. It was also sitting there that she considered what she would say to Dale about her sudden moving of home's, her trail of thought was interrupted as she felt a presence approaching the room, and glanced up to see Hellboy appear in the doorway.

'Oh...Good morning,' she greeted softly, Hellboy nodding to her wearily.

'Yeah, morning...' he answered, 'you're up early?'

'I have lessons this morning,' Belle explained, 'I'm being picked up in a few minutes.'

'Ain't that your car outside? Or did I imagine that one?' he asked confused, Belle smiling slightly.

'No, you're right, the Mercedes is mine, but Agent Manning said he would rather I didn't use it for now as they want me to be as safe as possible.'

'Really? Well I know what I would've said to that,' he began,

'Well I didn't want to inconvenience anyone, and I would prefer driving myself, though I did agree to all of this and the FBI are only doing what they can,' she said with a smile, Hellboy being careful not to say too much on his opinions of the FBI, seeing the apparent faith that Belle showed in hoping she would be kept safe.

'Looks like your ride is here,' he remarked, Belle seeing a car pulling up on the driveway.

'Another black car...' she nodded, taking note of the obsidian colour.

'Yeah they're not too creative like that,' he grinned, Belle shaking her head lightly as she went to the door where an agent greeted her.

Though it was only after Belle had left that Abe had stirred, looking around his room before down to his books, noting how little he had gotten into them with no one there to turn the pages. Abe had always been used to having someone to talk to, whether it was the professor, Hellboy, Liz, or whichever of the other agents that happened to pass through his home in the bureau. Though lately things had been quieter, which led him to wonder whether Liz and Hellboy thought he still wanted time alone. It was difficult to say what he wanted at the present time, though in remembering their new guest that resided in the room next to him, Abe began to think, all the while wondering what she felt about the sudden changes of life she had gone through in such a short time.

Getting out of the tank, Abe easily lifted himself up onto the side, with his muscles flexing as he did so, before taking a towel and drying off lightly as he walked down the stairway. Yet as he trailed a hand across the many bookcases that lined the back wall, he found himself feeling torn with the desire to speak to this girl again. Though being reminded once again of the hardships he had undergone, Abe wondered whether his emotions would ever allow him to get even that close.

It was also around that time that Liz had woken up, finding Hellboy already sat up with a coffee in hand. 'What time is it?' she asked in a low voice,

'Dunno...early,' he responded, Liz supporting herself on one elbow as she glanced to the clock on the bedside table.

'Eight am...why are you awake?'

'Good question, it ain't natural, that's for sure,' he replied drinking his coffee and handing Liz a cup. 'You feeling okay?' he asked stroking Liz's cheek with the palm of his thumb.

'Yeah up to now...Abe may have been right with the music,' she said leaning back against his chest. 'Belle must have left by now. I think she starts at nine.'

'Yeah I saw her leave. FBI picked her up. They apparently don't want her to have any freedom till they say so.'

'I thought she'd be driving...and the FBI would just watch her when she was out at school,' Liz replied,

'Nope.'

'But that misses the point of us looking after her doesn't it? I'll drive her if they're insistent on her not using her car yet,' Liz suggested thoughtfully.

'Are ya sure about hat Liz, I know what you mean but you're well...pregnant ye know.'

'Really? I was wondering what that bump was,' she responded, Hellboy smirking slightly at her sarcasm, Liz rolling her eyes as she continued. 'Anyway, pregnant does not mean immobile, not does it mean I can't drive. I'm perfectly capable,'

'I wasn't saying ya weren't,' he said as one of the cats that had slept on the end of the bed crept up and spread out on his lap. 'Just take it easy if ya are gonna do this,' he requested, Liz running her hand up his bare chest as their lips met in a passionate kiss.

'I know how to take care of myself...I learnt a lot of it from you growing up,' she grinned, Hellboy watching her with a proud expression that made her laugh. 'Besides, I can be more discreet than you can...not that it's really all that hard,' she grinned, Hellboy looking at her as he returned the expression before pulling her closer as he growled playfully in her ear,

'Are you sure about that?' his eyes having a mischievous glint about them as the cat left his lap and them alone...

x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

Sitting quietly in the car on the way to school, Belle had found herself receiving some "subtle" questions on how she was finding her stay at her new home, though she answered them politely, seeing the confusion in the agent's mind at her lack of fear. 'It must have startled you.'

'Quite,' she nodded, 'though I wasn't told about it, so I wasn't likely to have any other reaction...I just wish I'd known more or been introduced in a different way,' she answered softly.

'Not all of us agreed with the approach,' he responded, 'it's just in this line of work, everything's a secret. You must understand Miss. Lucivia we were acting with your interests in mind. No one would have put you in a dangerous situation, and might I say that Agent Manning must trust you to allow this level of protection.'

'How so?'

'Well...without putting too fine a note on it, you're now in on one of the Government's biggest secrets...that takes a lot of trust.' Looking into the Agent's dark brown eyes they told her he was genuine, though his personality was clearly well restricted when working. Being emotionally involved in a lot of lines of work Belle knew was often frowned upon, but she couldn't help but wonder how people managed to be so unemotional when faced with difficult scenarios. 'So what do you think of them both? Hellboy and Abe?' he then questioned.

'They're both quite welcoming, Abraham's a little quiet I suppose, but Hellboy's certainly more confident.'

'Yeah it's always been like that. Those two are total opposites but their best friends. You'll probably find you'll like Abe when you get to know him though. He's good to work with.'

Though arriving into the school wasn't as bad as Belle had imagined, it gained some attention she noted. Yet seeing Liam approach her as she got out of the car, Belle thanked her driver, hoping he would have driven off before he saw Liam speak to her. 'Morning,' he greeted, Belle nodding to him slightly with a polite "hello" as she then walked past him, the car now leaving with the Agent clearly presuming he was a friend. Though Liam was quick behind Belle...

'You okay?'

'Yes, I'm fine thankyou,' she answered, though Liam could tell the slightly off tone of voice she held when speaking to him.

'So why are you giving me the cold shoulder? I mean I haven't seen you all weekend yeah but...'

'I was away this weekend...' she replied glancing to him, Liam bringing her to a stop as he stepped in front of her.

'So what have I done?'

'I don't want to make things difficult Liam...I really must get to my class...' she then said, excusing herself and feeling grateful that Liam didn't follow her again, yet she could feel his eyes watching her.

But despite Liam apparently missing the fact Belle hadn't driven her own car that morning, there were some who did come to notice. But it was only after her English class that they were able to talk to her about it. During the lesson, Belle listened intently as they talked about the novel they were studying for their exam. It was "The Two Gentlemen of Verona." Not Shakespeare's most well known work, but it became one of Belle's favourites after she had first read it. She had to admit; the romance was captivating and to her represented a very early form of a fairytale's happy ending. Though Valentine's love for Silvia and her belief that he wasn't dead was also a carefully portrayed display of hope, that being the topic of discussion during their lesson. Though it was only after the lesson that Dale finally caught up with Belle, 'Hey, I've been waiting for you to finish class,'

'Hello,' she smiled in return, 'I thought you had training this morning?'

'Cancelled...have you finished lessons for today?' he asked hopefully, Belle nodding,

'Yes, I was just going to drop off a copy of some work for music. You can join me if you like.'

'Sure...I wanting to ask you if everything was alright though, I heard Liam was bothering you this morning.' It was clear to Belle that Dale was honestly concerned about her, though she also knew he had heard about Belle being "chauffeured" to school through his thoughts.

'It's alright,

'I called for you this morning, but Mrs. Lucivia said you weren't at home. Though she also said she thought it would be better for you to explain.'

Sighing softly, Belle knew she had little time to tell Dale what was going on after handing in her work and walking slowly to the parking lot with him. 'Did you see me arrive this morning?' she then asked, thinking it would be easier to answer him once she knew what he did.

'I saw you briefly as I rode in...But I didn't see your car, just a black one,'

'Yes, that was the car that brought me to school...and it will do until I can use mine again. I'm not staying at home for a while, so I'm with some...friends of our family.'

'Why?' he asked, seeing the slight unhappiness that shone in her eyes.

'It's a long story...I don't even understand everything myself yet, but I will explain it to you soon, I promise,' she assured him. Belle felt a horrible guilt at having to lie about who she was staying with, though she knew it was the only thing she could do at that point.

'Belle...'

'I have to go, I'll see you tomorrow though,' she said, seeing the familiar black Aston Martin waiting as they reached the parking lot...

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~

Returning to her new home, Belle had felt a little disheartened, though as she opened the door, she found Abe walking across the hall, wearing all black as he had been when she had first met him.

'Hello,' she uttered softly,

'Good afternoon,' he responded, their eyes meeting for a moment as Abe seemed to study her expression, sensing something in her mind that seemed to be bothering her. But as Abe went to speak, something soft brushed against her legs.

'I hope you don't mind cats...' he offered, Belle shaking her head as she smiled lightly, putting her books and handbag down as she knelt to its level.

'No I'm very fond of animals,' she smiled, the ginger tabby walking up onto her lap before rolling over showing it's white tummy...

'...and they apparently like you as well,' Hellboy remarked coming from the kitchen.

'I thought I saw a young black cat yesterday? It had very blue eyes?'

'With one white paw...? Yeah she's a more recent one...only about five months old when I got her,' he grinned, 'I got about fifty of 'em.'

'He doesn't mean that as a joke either,' Liz remarked coming to the living room door.

'Fifty cats?' Belle repeated in surprise,

'Yep, here's ya friend now,' he added, Belle glancing round to see the black cat with such bright blue eyes and one white paw. 'Still haven't decided on a name for her, just been calling her blue eyes these past few weeks,' he smirked.

'She's ever so pretty,' Belle smiled, the cat purring contently. 'I've not had many cats, though there was one that she reminds me of...she was called Willow.'

'Willow? Hmm...Sounds good, what do you reckon blue eyes?' he remarked, kneeling down to the cat and tickling its chin as she purred louder. 'I take that as a yes,' he smirked.

Belle watched quite curiously at the cats reaction to Hellboy, it was completely calm, relaxed...it made her think about just how caring they all seemed to be. So genuine...Though looking up, Belle found that Abe had disappeared.

'Have I done something wrong?' she questioned aloud.

'No, Abe's been like it for a while. Might just take him a bit of time to get a bit of confidence back...though ya could always go and talk to him if you wanted,' Hellboy suggested less than subtly.

'I wouldn't want to bother him...' she began,

'Ya wouldn't be, honestly,' he encouraged, 'to be honest he could probably do with the company...' Watching as Belle glanced to him before down the hallway, he noted that she seemed to have such an innocent demeanour, her personality kind and calm as she smiled finally.

'I'll see you a little later; I'll just take my books down to my room,'

'Sure,' he nodded, 'have fun,' he added in an undertone, feeling hopeful that she would take his advice.

'So what is it you're hoping for exactly?' Liz asked with a knowing expression.

'I dunno yet, think it's up to them to decide that,' he grinned, putting an arm around her waist...

As Belle knocked softly upon the door, she heard a voice permitting her entrance, Belle drawing a slight breath as she put her hand on the door handle, and opened it. Looking around her, Belle was in absolute awe at the room; with so many books lining the walls...it was more than she had ever seen before, the delicate light coming in and the gentle crackling of the fire giving the room natural warmth. Though looking around her Belle then noticed a tank that stood in the right corner,

'Hello?' she called carefully, feeling drawn towards the tank and feeling Abe's aura from within it.

'Belle...I didn't expect it to be you...' the voice answered, though it sounded a like it had ever such a slight echo behind it, with a large pane of glass between them as Belle saw Abe appear from within the depths of the tank.

'I'm sorry to disturb you...' she started, Abe noting how light and soft her voice was, her shining amethyst eyes watching him as she observed him in the way he did with her. 'It's not a problem Belle, if I may call you that,'

'Of course,' she said, surprised by the question. Abe's body showed similar markings to his face, with the colourings being a shade of azure blue with darker streaks of midnight blue. With only a pair of black leather shorts on, Belle was able to see his lightly muscled chest and biceps. Across his chest it was clear to see the upper body strength he had, though Belle found herself focused on his deep blue eyes that seemed almost like you could become lost in them.

'You have a beautiful home,' she complimented finally, looking around her, Abe watching her with a hand lightly brushing the glass between them, giving him a small insight into her life.

'Thankyou,' Abe responded, noting her striking eyes that he had been drawn to, both when he found her in the school building and in the dreams which had preceded and followed it, her softly flowing hair moving lightly as she looked back to him.

'You're eyes are so very unique,' he remarked without thinking too much about the remark before he said it, Belle tilting her head slightly as she smiled delicately.

'Yes...I'm the only one in my family to have this eye colour...it was quite a surprise to my family. My mother has light blue eyes and my father dark blue. Though a lot of people seem to think at first glance that it isn't my natural eye colour...they seem to presume I simply wear contact lenses.'

'I wouldn't have believed so...but might I ask you something?'

'Yes,' she answered, looking up into his eyes and reading from them the question he was going to ask.

'How were you able to decide to leave your family in order to receive protection when it meant not being able to see them?' he asked, Belle sighing and letting a slight sadness pass through her features as she then answered honestly.

'I don't know how I was able to decide it...I guess my family's safety meant too much to me. If doing this kept them safe...then I was willing to do it.' As Abe continued to watch her, taking in Belle's answer it was then that she made to excuse herself the room apologising for disturbing him, though it was as she went to move that Abe stopped her.

'Before you leave...would you please turn the pages?' he asked politely, Belle glancing down to the golden stands that held four books.

'All of them?'

'Please,' he nodded, Belle proceeding to do so and receiving thanks to which she found herself smiling slight as she bid him goodbye, only stopping at his door to turn and say something that had been on her mind.

'I wanted to thank you…for saving my life that is. I never got a proper chance to say it before, but I was entirely grateful,' she said graciously, leaving the room and Abe alone to reflect on their conversation. Though it was hearing her go into her room that Abe began to play some music as she had done the night before. As Belle paused in her room having walked to the window and listening to the music, a slight smile came to her features as she went to call her parents for the first time since her arrival...

So Belle and Abe have finally had a little time together, but can Abe bring himself to open up a little more to her? All coming up in the next chapter along with a few other surprises...

Please review, I will update again soon and thankyou to everyone who has reviewed, it's very much appreciated.

Goodnight!

~x-xMasqueradeAngelx-x