Obligatory Disclaimer: Dark Horse and Mr. Mignola own all, save for my own original characters. A special thank you to Guillermo del Toro for bringing this wonderful character to my attention.

A/N: First of all, sorry for the delay. Every time I went to sit down and work on this chapter, something always pulled me from it. I sincerely hope that I was able to make it cohesive.

Second, WOW! I want to thank you all for all your kind words. I am totally blown out of the water with the feedback this story has gotten. And all of your comments and suggestions are duly noted and completely appreciated. Although it's very cliched, I feel kinda like Sally Field. 'You like me!'

I especially want to thank Beth Palladino for all of her support. If not for her, I don't think I ever would have posted 'In the Pale Moonlight.'

Now, the movie.

I saw Hellboy II this afternoon and save for a song choice (which I still can't get out of my head, grrr), I think it rocked. The imagery and action sequences were more than I could have hoped for. I feel totally inspired!

"Well, don't you look like nine miles of bad road..." Torie teased, as she leaned against the doorframe.

Showing up unannounced after such a long absence, Hellboy filled the doorway of Torie's apartment, looking every inch battered and completely battle-worn. His duster was torn and stained with blood. Bruising tinged the skin around his eyes and mouth, as well as marred parts of his chest that weren't hidden in shadow. Torie knew that he could take a beating and only hoped that Hellboy looked worse than he felt. She was also aware of Hellboy's amazing regenerative powers, so Torie wondered just how bad he had looked before he darkened her doorstep.

But despite his injuries, Torie still felt her heart speed up and her stomach tighten in excitement. There was just something so primal and masculine about him, despite the fact that his wounds greatly concerned her. Her reaction to the sight of Hellboy himself almost frightened Torie more than the wounds did.

It had been almost three weeks since she had woken up alone and now that Torie was finally getting her morning after, albeit much belated, she suddenly felt shy in Hellboy's presence. So instead of throwing her arms around him in welcome, as she had planned out in her head time and time again, Torie held onto the front doorknob as if her life depended on it.

Everything was so different, the parameters of their relationship indelibly altered. Oh, he was still Sam and she was still Torie, but their reunion felt… alien, for lack of a better word. Suddenly, Torie didn't know how to act. The one person with whom she had always felt at ease seemed so foreign to her.

They had spent longer amounts of time apart, with his cases taking him to the far corners of the world, so it wasn't the shock of seeing him again after so long an absence that threw her. Nor was it the way he looked under all his injuries. Oh, there was stubble peppering his jaw from time spent away from a razor and his horns, already starting to lose the flat smoothness that his grinder provided, were longer than she ever remembered. And as he stood next to Torie, she quickly remembered that nearly seven feet of height was dizzying when she looked up the full length of Sam.

But it wasn't that they looked so different that caused her anxiety. The red skin. The tail. The oversized right hand. Who cared? It was that he looked more handsome than she ever remembered.

Please, Torie, don't become that woman. No moon eyes. He's still Sam. Nothing's really changed. It's just… gotten modified.

And then in dawned on Torie why everything felt so different; it was her physical reaction to Hellboy, rather than her emotional response to seeing him that caused her discomfiture. She wanted to physically be with him just as much as she wanted to hang out with him.

But he's your boyfriend now. It's okay.

"Damn, and here I was thinking that the beatings made my ugly mug look better. But you certainly are a sight for sore eyes. Especially since it was a damn tough case. And, unfortunately, I have to go right back into another one. So I can't stay for very long. I have a four am briefing and then fly out at six."

Torie bit her lip. It was almost three in the afternoon and while it was disappointing that they couldn't laze around and relish the joys of their newly forged coupledom, she hated seeing the big guy so glum. An almost bashful smile broke across her face as she tugged him inside.

Trying to muster up courage she didn't necessarily feel, Torie stepped aside, allowing her… boyfriend… access to the apartment. "Well, we have the rest of the afternoon. Now c'mon! Get your ass in here rather than let all my air conditioning into the hallway! And since when do you knock? You have a key, silly." Pleased that her voice sounded playful, a genuine smile curved Torie's lips.

Allowing himself to be led across the threshold, Hellboy had to remind himself to keep from shaking his head in amusement. While this was not how he expected their next encounter to play out, but Torie seemed a little skittish. And while he was itching to make up for lost time, there were a few things wanted to show her before allowing himself to get lost in the taste of her skin and the scent of her hair.

"Get my ass in here, is it now?" he asked, a brow quirking upwards. "Well, when you talk like that, I might just have a big surprise for you that you'll like…" Hellboy halted his steps just inside the apartment, closing the door behind him, and paused for Torie to react because he was intentionally baiting her.

He didn't have long to wait.

Feeling her cheeks burn in embarrassment, Torie swallowed hard and raised her chin in a false sense of bravery. "I… I think that I'm feeling a little shy when it comes to talking about… that… so casually now that we're face-to-face. The phone was easier and I really don't… generally… move that fast… And I'm just botching this all up, aren't I?"

Almost feeling bad for her discomfort, Hellboy chuckled quietly, his right arm settling around her waist as he walked them deeper into the apartment. "Relax, Torie. That's not the kind of surprise I was talking about, although I would be happy to oblige you in a little bit. But until then, you might enjoy this." With flourish, Hellboy pulled a package out of the bag slug across his back that Torie hadn't noticed until that moment.

Curious, Torie took the package with some trepidation. Wrapped in old newspaper, the object was cylindrical and heavy. Setting it on the floor, Torie looked up at Hellboy, confusion coloring her features. His features gave away nothing, but the rapid switching of Hellboy's tail indicated his excitement.

Squatting next to the package, Torie began to slowly unwrap the item. Twine held the newsprint around the object. As each layer of paper fell away, the rhythmic swishing of Hellboy's tail increased. When she finally touched wood, Torie knew what it was and shouted, "My parents' totem! Where on earth did you find this?" She launched herself to her feet and into Hellboy's arms that he nearly staggered from the assault. Out of the few things stolen from her parents' murder, the totem was the most valuable, both monetarily and sentimentally.

Relishing the feel of Torie in his arms, Hellboy chuckled as her lips found his, although he had to explain some things about the totem. Breaking away from their kiss, he explained, "Actually, it's part of the reason why I was away so long. I tracked down lead after lead and finally managed to meet up with it in Sierra Leone. Some collector didn't want to part with it, but I, uh, convinced him that it would be best if it went back to its rightful owner."

Torie's brow furrowed and concern washed over her features. She never mentioned the totem to Sam before. How did he know about it? "Wait! What? How… how did you even know about this?"

Sighing heavily, he led Torie over to the sofa where he set his bag down with a loud thud on the floor, before pulling Torie onto his lap. Tucking her head against his shoulder, she looked up at Hellboy and waited for the explanation.

Looking anywhere but at Torie, Hellboy began to piece his tale together. But considering the circumstances that caused the totem to leave Torie's ownership, he felt like he was trespassing. "It was mentioned in an article about your parents. Remember when you met Kate and I went off while you all were in the library? Google News told me a lot about your parents. One article told me more than the rest of the wire service stories. And there was a picture. And, I dunno, it looked vaguely familiar enough that I decided to explore that avenue. I won't deny that I got the lead from a news story, but I have done a fair bit of research on Chukwu in my day, although I'm sure you know more than I do."

Torie shrugged gracefully, her shoulders rolling upwards and then sinking, reminding Hellboy of the tides. "I mean, I know a little. Mostly textbook stuff. The name Chukwu is a combination of the Igbo words great and god. The Igbo living in the Calabar district of eastern Nigeria… And Chukwu is the creator of all things and so all things are under the control of Chukwu. Neither male or female, the sun is its symbol and it brings the rains that make plants grow. Because of that, the Igbo believe that all good comes from it." Torie snorted before adding, "Fat lot of good it did my parents."

Hellboy sat silent. There was more to the tale of ol' Chukwu. Of how it brought death to the world when a messenger, sent to tell man that if anyone should die, forgot to tell the people that a dead person should be laid upon the ground and covered with ashes, allowing them to come back to life. But because the messenger forgot some of the message, men were told to bury the dead in the ground. Hellboy knew that there was no way that Torie didn't know that path of the Chukwu mythology, but thought better of mentioning it. Instead, he wanted to steer the conversation back to a more uplifting track.

"Hey, I brought this back to you to cheer you up, not bring you down. If I did bad, I'll take it away."

The dejected tone in Hellboy's voice nearly broke Torie's heart. This was not how she wanted this day to go. At all. They should be laying in bed, enjoying their respective afterglows, talking about nothing in particular. Instead, their was some awkwardness and talk of her parents. This was not setting the mood… "No! No… Thank you. You must think me ungrateful. I'm just… shocked, is all. First, there's the 'us factor' to adjust to. Then the totem. Anything else I should know about?" She hated that she tried for playful and her tone instead came out cautious.

Smiling ruefully, Hellboy shook his head in the negative. "No. And let's start over. We'll talk about that when I have more time. Right now, all I want to do is look at you. Although I brought you a few things. A gift… And I also brought some Chinese…"

Glancing over at the clock in the kitchen, Torie saw that it was now creeping up on 3:30 in the afternoon. Too early for dinner and lunch hadn't been that long ago. Looking back at Sam, she gently shook her head. "I'm actually not that hungry, but I want you to eat. I'm sure you're starving."

"Well, I do have a bit of an appetite, but not for food – if you know what I mean. However, I thought we could read the fortune cookies. You know you're supposed to add 'in bed' to the end of your fortune, right?"

They were starting to get back on track. "Oh really now?" Torie knew, but played along, hoping to keep the newly discovered playful streak going.

"Absolutely."

Hesitating a moment, Torie then giggled. This was how their reunion was supposed to be. "So break 'em out."

Hellboy bit his bottom lip to keep from grinning like an idiot as he stood up. Shedding his duster, he tossed it over the back of the sofa before digging a white paper bag out of his leather satchel. Dumping the contents of the bag across the top of Torie's coffee table, he looked at her over his shoulder, smiling impishly.

The entire bag was filled with fortune cookies.

"Pick one," he instructed.

Pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes, Torie eyed Hellboy with a cross between amusement and irritation. So he had a plan all along, eh? But Torie picked up a plastic-wrapped cookie and opened it. "Your pursuit of happiness is an endless trail of good humor and pleasure."

"In bed," Hellboy added. "Good one. Now, my turn." He palmed a cookie and broke it open. "You have remarkable power which you are not using," Hellboy read.

"In bed," Torie finished, getting into the spirit.

The room was thick with innuendo as they read back and forth…

"Pleasant, talented, attractive personalities will cross your life and spark your imagination." "Luck is with you now. Act upon your instincts." "You display the wonderful traits of charm and courtesy." "Good things are being said about you." "Now is a good time to start something new." "A bold and dashing adventure is in your future." "Happy event will take place shortly in your home."

Finally, Torie was so turned on – and so completely done with munching on the fortune cookies – that she crawled back onto Hellboy's lap. He stopped mid-fortune as Torie turned her face upwards and touched her lips to his. Warmth spread throughout her body and she very nearly felt drunk at the sensation. But beefore Hellboy took the kiss to mean a suggestion to retreat back to her bedroom, Torie pulled away. "Sam, before we get sidetracked and I forget, I got you a present for your next assignment. Seems like now would be a grand time to give it to you. So you can pack it in your bag and all."

A present. His mind reeled as he tried to imagine what she could have gotten him. He had showered her with gifts for months, but this was a real surprise. He smiled down at her and moved so that he could reach behind his back. "Lemme give you mine first."

Torie watched as Hellboy turned around and to pull a small rectangular box out of his coat pocket. After he settled back down, Torie laid her head against his chest as she opened it. Hellboy's eyes closed in bliss, the smell of her shampoo filling his senses.

"You're absolutely kidding, right?" The joy in Torie's voice made his heart leap. She spun in his lap so that she was straddling his hips. "You got tickets to go see Phantom on Broadway?"

"Well, you said that you wanted me to take you out. I thought a long weekend in New York would make for a great first date."

"I can't believe you!" Torie looked down at the date for the show. She was going to New York in a week and a half. So much for keeping a low profile though. But the excitement overtook her concern. 

"Thank you so much!" Torie wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with enthusiasm. He opened his mouth to allow for her probing tongue to enter and cupped his hands on the underside of her bottom, pulling her closer to the hardness Torie had caused when she had settled on his lap. He smiled against her lips when a soft mew escaped from her throat.

Then she broke away, leaving his blood screaming in frustration. "No. Not yet. I have to give you your present. Wait right here." And in a flash, before the protest could escape past Hellboy's lips, she was sprinting off to her kitchen.

She came out moments later, an ornately wrapped box in her hands. Instead of climbing back onto his lap, as he had hoped, she settled down on the sofa next to him, kicking off her shoes and sitting on her feet. With a beaming grin, she silently handed him the box.

He regarded the box with a squint and then looked at Torie out of the corner of his eye. The neck of her button-down shirt was bloused open and he could see the swells of her breasts. With an impish grin, he allowed his fingers to trail along the neckline. "I think I want to open this gift first."

A blush colored her cheeks as she removed his hand and placed it on the box. "Unwrap the paper first, then the fabric."

He winked at her and gave an exaggerated sigh, but quickly tore the paper off the box. Sitting on his lap was an 80 gig iPod. A bright red 80 gig iPod. A stunned expression washed over his features.

"I hope you like it," Torie said hesitantly. "You were complaining about how bored you are on the flights and whatnot, since you get motion-sick reading on the plane, so I thought that this might come in handy. I already put my whole music library on there, so you already have stuff to listen to tomorrow. There's room for movies, but I didn't have enough time to put any on there…"

Hellboy rubbed his hand against his forehead. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had been so generous to him. "Tor, this couldn't have been cheap. You didn't need to do this."

Torie took the box out of his lap and set it on the coffee table. She then replaced herself onto his lap and placed a finger against his lips. "That's why I did it silly. I didn't need to. But I wanted to. Just like I want to do this."

Torie leaned back and began to unbutton her shirt, letting the material slip from her shoulders. Hellboy was rewarded with a view that had plagued his fantasies for years.

A sheer black demi bra that tied in the front, which was just begging to be unfastened, encased her breasts. She still wore her jeans, which was fine – for the time being – as Hellboy had to admit that a woman wearing denim – tight denim – and little else set his blood on fire.

"Nice," he whispered.

"I hope you like this gift as much as the iPod," she teased, scooting herself closer to the bulge she hoped was forming in his pants. "I went undergarment shopping while you were gone." She was pleasantly rewarded when her stomach bumped his.

Hellboy groaned in appreciation. "Oh, I like... But now I feel overdressed."

"That's something easily remedied." Swiftly grabbing the bottom of his shirt, she pulled it up over his head in one motion and threw it across the room.

Torie paused a moment, her glance critical. Bruises dappled his torso, just begging for 'get well' kisses. But it wasn't his wounds that captured her attention. "You know something that I just realized?"

Amused by the wrinkle between her brows, he asked, "What's that?" as he reached to untie her bra.

"You have better cleavage than I do."

Hellboy's ringing laughter rang through the apartment until his lips were smothered by Torie's.