Hello everyone!

I hope your all well...I'm getting over a cold which my lovely boyfriend decided to share, so my voice has been coming and going a lot this week. But none the less I've had a lot more time to work on the new chapter, so I decided to upload early just for my readers :)

This chapter will look at a few past memories of the characters and for those who are looking for those little romantic hints, or seeing Hellboy at his best with some of his remarks and actions, I think this will be a chapter that you'll enjoy :)

Please review, it's very much appreciated! Thankyou!

Seeing Liz up bright and refreshed the following morning, Hellboy felt some relief that his girlfriend was feeling better than she had done, admittedly, for weeks. Though it also occurred to him that Abe seemed to be getting notably better, despite his still present grief over Princess Nuala...yet he couldn't help but somehow hope that Belle could possibly help Abe...maybe intentionally, maybe without even realising it...

'So what do you think Red? Black or black?' came Liz's voice, regaining Hellboy's attention as she held up two very similar black outfits.

'I'd say the black. But I don't know...black really suits you. Tough decision...' he grinned,

'Yeah I thought so...' she replied, Hellboy grinning when he picked Liz up, putting her on the bed and hovering over her as a deep rumble sounded from his broad chest.

'I'll tell you what I would prefer...' he growled coyly.

'Mm...What is it exactly you would prefer?' she whispered looking into his golden eyes that had their usual mischievous glint, Hellboy leaning down and uttering in her ear,

'I think you know,' he purred, nibbling affectionately at her earlobe, Liz inhaling a little more deeply as she said in a weaker tone,

'I have to get ready...'

'What time were you planning on going out with Belle?' he questioned

'Ten...'

'It's eight am now...two hours...I can guarantee you'll be upstairs eating breakfast by nine, ready and waiting to go out.'

'One hour?'

'Make it half...' he smirked, 'until then though...you're mine...' he growled playfully, lowering himself upon her as their lips met in a fiery kiss of passion.

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

Later that morning, Abe had awoken in his tank feeling somewhat stressed, though he wasn't sure what could have caused it...he hadn't had any bad dreams, nor had he any reason to feel the stress he did. But it gave him a headache strong enough to make him close his eyes as he massaged his temples lightly. Looking at the glass and seeing the unclear reflection staring back at him; Abe then carefully pushed up from the floor, gliding to the surface more slowly than usual...

Once dry, Abe walked down the spiral staircase and glanced over the shelves containing many of his books. Coming to a rather large novel however on the theory of dreams, Abe paused and slid it out from its place, it making him think of Belle.

Admittedly, he had been surprised by her thoughts, the way she wondered if she were "just a job" reflecting on the fact she evidently didn't feel like she were welcome in their lives, the idea only seeming to make him feel worse that morning. She was so quiet and yet her mind said so much about her...Abe was certain that if given the chance she would be completely different in the way she acted...perhaps more relaxed...happier to be with them...Though hearing the room door close that was beside his, Abe moved to choose another three books before joining Hellboy, Liz and Belle upstairs, his thoughts still unclear...

Meanwhile Belle had awoken in the early hours of the morning, feeling tired and weary, though upon awakening again sometime later, she finally got up, knowing she needed to get ready for going out. However, shortly after, Belle was surprised to hear her phone ringing, not expecting anyone to call so early, Dale's number flashing across the smooth surface of the screen.

'Hi,'

'Good morning,' Belle answered with a slight yawn,

'I haven't woken you have I?'

'No, I'd just go up...is something wrong? You're not normally up so early on a Sunday unless you have training...'

'No...well...I was just wondering if you might be free tonight?'

'I'm sorry...' she started,

'I can pick you up from wherever you are...it's no problem.'

'I know, normally I would love to, but things are still quite complicated here...I promise we can go out soon though...how about this week sometime?'

'I leave for a training course tomorrow for the week,' Dale answered, Belle remembering the quarterly courses that Dale was required to go on as part of gaining his qualifications.

'I promise I'll make it up to you,' Belle amended softly, 'my birthdays soon remember? I'll be home for it...'

'Really?'

'Yes, and I promise you can have my attention for as long as you like...'

'Give me a day?'

'Of course,' Belle smiled, Dale's tone brightening as he agreed to it, assuring Belle he'd make sure she kept to it. Though in all honesty, Belle was looking forward to it just as much...knowing how much she was missing her best friend...

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

Going upstairs to find Liz and Hellboy already up, both equally matched in their moods, though Abe didn't question it, feeling simply glad they were getting along. Though Hellboy and Liz had a strong relationship their temperaments and differences clashing to the point of somewhat fiery arguments...Yet by the end of the day, they'd often made up in their own way, with few words spoken but a hand held or a kiss to seal the apology. Though with Liz's pregnancy, the arguments were smaller yet a little more frequent than usual, it being nice for Abe finding them getting along well.

'So are you ready?' Liz asked, Abe noticing Belle enter the room with her hair sitting lightly over her shoulders and down her back, her attire being a warm turtleneck dress in royal blue which she wore with black tights and a dark blue pair of boots.

'I think so...I'm sure I've got everything...' Belle mused, glancing through her handbag as she brushed her hair back over her ear.

'Do you still want to drive?'

'Yes, definitely,' Belle responded quite enthusiastically, 'I've got my keys,'

'Right. See you guys later. Red don't even think about following us...keep an eye on him Abe...'

'I'll do my best,' Abe answered with a wry smile, Hellboy rolling his eyes grinning as they watched the girls get into Belle's gleaming Mercedes. The car itself was only a year old, Belle receiving it new for her birthday the previous year, the automatic drive making it smooth and fast. Just as Belle was accustomed too...

'So where do you want to go?'

'Westfield Mall is quite nice...I go there a lot when I want a good day out shopping,' Belle smiled, 'we can get lunch there too.'

'Sounds good,' Liz agreed, Belle starting up the engine and pulling away smoothly off the drive, following Liz's direction to get them onto the main road headed into Connecticut.

'So how long have you been driving for then?'

'I got a restricted license when I was sixteen years old, but my Father used to take me out in quiet areas to show me the basic controls, so I wouldn't feel as nervous when I first started. But I've had my full license nearly a year now.' Truth be told however as Liz watched Belle behind the wheel, she was surprised at the natural flare of confidence Belle seemed to have as a driver, it seemed to relax her as she settled behind the wheel.

'Can you drive?' Belle asked, bringing Liz from her thoughts,

'Yes, I learnt after rejoining the BPRD in two thousand and four,' Belle smiling slightly, as she continued the drive into the city.

Though after a few moments, Belle was slightly startled by a flash, glancing beside her and seeing a picture sliding out from the base of a camera Liz held.

'Pictures?'

'Yeah...I like to capture memories that are good...'

'It's always better to keep some memory of good times, yes,' Belle smiled, 'I have pictures of everyone who means something to me in my room. A picture for every heart...for every person that I cherish...'

'Is that a quote from something?'

'No...Not exactly...it's just something my Mother always says...'

'Does your Mum know what you can do?'

'...no...' she responded more quietly, the atmosphere going silent as Belle drove around to the car park of the large mall.

Going inside, Belle felt somewhat like things were back to normal again, the busy rush of people shopping on a weekend, and being out with a friend at the shops really made her feel as if she could just be herself. As Liz watched Belle gaze around for a moment, she then turned to Liz with a bright sparkle in her vividly coloured eyes as she asked, 'where first?'

During the course of the morning, Liz noticed just how much she enjoyed spending some time with Belle and how it felt so different from always being around other men. She found herself being relate with Belle on some level despite them being quite different from one another, yet they found an even ground during that day which lasted well as they went for lunch before continuing their shopping trip.

'So tell me, why is it you hadn't gone shopping for any maternity clothes?' Belle asked, still being surprised by it when Liz had told her.

'I just...I'm not really all that bothered about finding things that look good on me. Black's black. It looks good whatever you where.'

'But colour can bring out such brightness. Black is classy, but you can find so much more in colour which can still complement black.'

'Well what you suggested wasn't bad...at least it doesn't look over the top.'

'It doesn't have too,' Belle smiled. 'I'm wearing colour and it doesn't look-'

'I mean maternity wear...I just don't like showing off that I'm getting bigger...'

'All you need is some flared tops that have a suited design which make your figure look more flattering...and I'm sure Hellboy will like a lot of it.'

'He is always telling me I should maybe try different looks, though if I'm happy, he says he's happy.'

'It's sweet,' Belle said softly. 'You both seem so happy together,'

'We are...though we do have our moments...'

Though as their order arrived, Liz and Belle fell quiet for a few moments, eating their order of lasagne with sides of both salad and some fries enjoyably, though Belle was thinking lightly over the relationship she had seen between Hellboy and Liz. 'What was it that brought you both together...?' she asked finally, Liz glancing up to her with a slight smile and a shake of her head at the thought of some of the lengths her then friend had gone to, to see her.

'Red and I...we had this bond when we were growing up. I wasn't put in the BPRD's care at the age of ten because of what I can do is potentially dangerous...but because of the fact I didn't know how to control this potentially dangerous ability.'

'What is it that you are able to do?' Belle then questioned, Liz hesitating for a moment as she seemed to struggle with the words, worried at how Belle would take it.

'...I can create and manipulate fire at will...at the time though I couldn't control it...if my emotions ran to high...fire simply engulfed my body and often it spread...but now, I can control it and command it as I wish...I've come to learn that fire is a part of me...it's not something I should fear,' she explained, watching Belle's expression which remained composed, a slight sympathetic smile gracing her lips as she said,

'Did you think I'd be afraid of you because of the way I act around fire?' Liz being surprised that Belle had known what Liz was thinking, though she guessed she should be treated just as Abe was in knowing the strength of his clairvoyant abilities.

'Yes,' she answered honestly, Belle tilting her head slightly as she smiled softly.

'I don't at all...you've been so welcoming to me...you all have really...I would never judge what you can do...but how was it that you got taken in by the FBI?' she responded, Liz sighing slightly, the memory haunting to her, though she continued her original story.

'I was ten when my parents died...I had an episode shortly before and it caught the attention of the authorities. I was terrified at first but Red's adopted Father, Professor Broom, was the one who took me under his wing and treated me like a daughter...and Red...he was defensive of me from the start. But he understood me. Understood what it's like to be different. At first it seemed like just a genuine friendship, but as we got older, those feelings changed, you know. I found myself wanting to hold on for just one more moment when he held me. But I was in and out of the BPRD all the time...I was finding it hard to accept who I was...desperate to feel...normal. Red was worried for me constantly and I felt like I shouldn't be doing it to him, knowing he didn't deserve it...so I tried to push him away, thinking things would be better...but they just became worse. From it all I found that in the end, he is what gives me my strength and I saw from the way he fought the FBI just to see me, how much he cared...how much he wanted me to be happy and...To accept myself for who I am...'

In those few minutes as Liz poured her heart out, Belle saw just how difficult life had been for them all. Each of them seemed to have gone through their own troubles, and here they were, willingly helping Belle when she herself was now in danger.

'How long have you been afraid of fire?' Liz continued, Belle looking up, somewhat surprised by the question, though she understood it as she smiled slightly.

'Ever since I was a little girl I suppose. I was out with my Father one day...he used to love showing me all the natural areas away from the city when he wasn't working...' Belle began to explain. 'We went to a forest that was just out of Connecticut's borders...I remember thinking it was all so pretty...my Father told me it was close to the sea, but we didn't get that far. It was such a hot day...and with it being near to autumn there was a lot of dried leaves on the forest floor...'

'It set alight?' Liz offered, Belle nodding.

'We weren't too far in...But it was terrifying...the smoke was so thick...I found it hard to even breathe...ever since then I just became more and more nervous of wildfire...I'm not afraid of candles burning or the fire in a fireplace...but still cautious. When I was in there last night, seeing those flames reminded me of that day when I was a little girl again, but when Abe told me it wasn't real...the first thing I remembered was being able to escape...otherwise I don't think I would have felt confident enough to walk through it...'

'Abe is very well intentioned, he has been through his share of troubles, as we all have, and it's fair to say none of us have been able to get past them easily.'

'I'm very grateful to him...he's helped me more than once...I just wish there was a way I could thank him properly...'

'You know, probably just the fact you acknowledged him means enough to Abe,' Liz replied honestly. 'He's not someone who needs very grand gestures. A lot of the time he isn't thanked for his help when he should have been. But you have shown you valued his help.'

'He was very kind to me...the way he stayed with me all night...it was just ever so sweet.'

'Well he wanted to make sure you were okay, you were unconscious for quite a long time...' Liz said reflectively, Belle remembering that moment she was slipping from consciousness, the lightheaded feeling that had rushed over her feeling draining as she lost all balance, though she remembered Abe catching her. Holding her safely until the danger had passed.

'You remember when you asked me why I take pictures a lot?'

'Yes...?'

'It's because when I lost control that day when I was ten...I took every memory I ever had with it. So now I make my memories as I encounter them, because I don't want to lose them again...'

'You wanted me to come out today because you wanted me to have some freedom like you, Hellboy and Abe have never had didn't you?' she asked softly, Liz looking at her and breathing a sigh as she looked into her mug of coffee.

'Life is hard when you have the FBI watching you constantly...I know that much. I never had any normality...it was always following safety procedures. Making sure I didn't cause too much damage if I had an "episode." Hellboy was grounded more times than you could count...only it involved him being locked behind a huge safe door. Not that it stopped him getting out when he wanted,' Liz said with a half smile. 'But even Abe, he's spent the best years since he was found helping a bureau that in the end couldn't care less what we go through, as long as the job gets done. Abe and Red aren't supposed to go out because it can cause problems for the FBI...they've never had the choice of it.'

'It's not fair that they shouldn't get the choice, they both deserve to be able to go out...even if it's only somewhere quiet...why shouldn't they get the chance?'

'Public reaction...that's the main problem...people at one time loved HB...then as soon as something went wrong with an entity rampaging through the city, everyone turned against him again.'

Thinking about this further as they finished their lunch, Belle and Liz quickly returned to their shopping, the atmosphere becoming much lighter again as Liz learnt about Belle's birthday that was coming up and her excitement at the thought of spending it with her family and friends that she had grown up with. Though even as Belle continued to help Liz find some maternity clothes, whilst picking up a few clothes herself, Liz thought about Belle's birthday a little, a few ideas coming to mind though she kept quiet and allowed Belle to help her choose some new outfits, feeling glad to have listened to her input as they came from the mall overwhelmed with shopping bags, and expressions that denoted evident happiness from their day out.

'I've really enjoyed myself today,'

'I'm glad, I think you needed some time out from everything, though the FBI aren't all bad...unless you only look at Manning, though even he's harmless when it comes to it.'

'Well thankyou,' Belle smiled, 'it really has been a wonderful day...'

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

It was late that afternoon by the time Liz and Belle had returned, and at that moment Abe had been floating with absent grace in his tank, reading his assembled books until the pages needed turning. Though as he went to get out again to turn them himself a knock came to the door that made him pause in slight curiosity...

'Come in,' he offered softly, his voice having a slight echo against the sound from the speaker that was fitted within the glass, a familiar face with amethyst eyes looking in and smiling brightly.

'Hello...'

'Good Afternoon...did you have a good day?'

'Yes very much so...' she replied softly, Abe gesturing for her to come in farther.

'...and Liz?'

'Yes she did too, we bought quite a lot and it was just nice to get to know her a bit better,' Belle responded, looking into Abe's deep eyes, feeling herself being drawn to them as they spoke to one another.

'I hope I'm not disturbing you...' she added the thought seeming to cross her mind shortly before she spoke, Abe shaking his head lightly.

'Not at all,'

'It just that...I was just wondering...if you might like some company...?' Belle offered, Abe being at first surprised by her remark, looking into her honest gaze that held such innocence behind it, it making him smile to see that she genuinely wanted to spend her time with him...

'Yes...I'd like that...' he said finally, Belle smiling as she approached the book stands and offered to turn the pages...

I do love finishing on a soft note. I did really enjoy writing that chapter, especially the opening scene lol. I shall be updating again soon though I'm planning my first special for this fanfic, which any new readers won't know about though it tends to be 2-3 chapters worth of content in one...I think my most outstanding special from the last fanfic was 18 pages? Maybe more I can't quite remember without looking back at it. But that will be going up for my birthday which is in just over three weeks time!

Oh so exciting! :)

Anyway I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and the delicate blossoming friendships that are occuring ^_^ I shall be updating again as soon as I can! Please review!

~x-xMasqueradeAngelx-x