Finding Home

Thank you to Grace Lee and Ero Sennin for leaving such wonderful reviews, and a special thank you to Grace for trying to find new readers and encouraging them to share their views. There is a part of this chapter that's a little....experimental for me. So I'll be anxious to hear what people think of it.

Enjoy!
psyche b

11. Dreams and Stories

“Hey!” Red shouted. The shock of it was all that registered for a moment.

Bethany's eyes fluttered open. Red's concerned face was hovering over her, his hand was on her waist.

“What?” She murmured. She was waking more fully now, and realizing that she had kicked off all the covers at some point. The lights were on in the other section of the room. She slid closer to Red.

“You were havin' a nightmare.” He held her close.

“I was?” She kissed the middle of his chest.

“Yeah.” He wrapped around her. “You don't remember?”

“No.” Bethany sighed softly. “I remember that it was dark, and for some reason that was scary. Was I saying anything?”

“No, but ya screamed.” His fingers drifted over her back and down over her hips. Bethany felt herself relaxing again.

“Sorry. Did I wake you?” She murmured.

“Nah. I been up for awhile, had breakfast, stuff like that. You were sleepin' so good I figured I'd let you sleep.” He kissed her temple. Bethany smiled a little. “Worried me a little though.”

“And people say you're not thoughtful.” She kissed the hollow of his throat.

“Yeah, I know. I hope they keep sayin' it too.”

Bethany laughed. “Why is that?”

“'Cause, if they think I'm a nice guy they're gonna expect me to be considerate, and patient and lift heavy stuff.” He smirked. “Why do I want that kinda aggravation?”

Bethany laughed harder. “I'll be sure to keep quiet about it.” She kissed him softly. He deepened the kiss. Bethany arched against him. She felt the hungry desire in his body, but he went no further than his gentle, stroking touches. Her hands floated over his skin hesitantly, not because she was shy about touching him, but because she didn't want to promise something she wasn't up to delivering at that moment.

“How's your shoulder?” He kissed the side of her neck. Bethany shrugged and, when there was no pain, she lifted her arm slowly.

“It's fine.” Her surprise registered in her voice. “I mean it still aches a little, but more like I slept on it wrong than I actually hurt it.”

“You didn't hurt it, I did.” He held her closer.

“You still don't remember doing it?” She snuggled into his warm body.

“No.” There was a defeated note in his voice.

“Maybe you were dreaming about it.”

“Huh?” He looked at her curiously.

“You had some kind of dream. Usually you're still when you sleep, but you were moving and from the sounds you made it seemed like you were angry. I woke you up enough to bring you out of it and you settled down again. I guess that lasted until you got up, all I know is that you were quiet the rest of the night.” Bethany closed her eyes again. She wasn't going to fall asleep again, but being close to him just felt so good.

“I kinda remember you waking me up, I dunno what I was dreaming though.” He was quiet, but she could hear that he wasn't finished. “What if I do it again? What if I do it every time?”

“If you do,” She held his eyes with hers. “Abe's gonna start losing sleep on a regular basis, or he'll teach you to take care of the wound. Personally, I prefer the latter. That part of last night was entirely too stressful.”

“What about the rest of it?” He smiled a little.

“The rest of it was perfect.” She kissed him softly.

“Regular basis huh?” He grinned.

“Unless you don't want to.” She blushed.

“I want to now.”

Bethany laughed. “I don't know that I'm ready right now. Besides, I need to get some breakfast and find Abe. I told him I'd let him check on my shoulder this morning. What time is it anyway?”

“A little before ten. Myers'll be by with another meal in a little bit. Wanna wait 'til then?” His lips trailed down the side of her neck. Bethany sighed softly.

“Then I really have to get up and get dressed.” She moved to sit up, but he pulled her back down again.

“Nope. He and I made a deal. Before noon, he knocks and leaves it outside. I go get it.” He kissed her again, this time his tongue made its way into her mouth. Bethany moaned softly and stroked it with hers. By the time he broke the kiss, Bethany was breathing faster.

“Sounds like a good arrangement.” She said finally. “Still, I kinda like to be dressed when I eat.”

He kissed her lightly once more and handed her the shirt she had been wearing the night before. Bethany pulled it over her head.

He offered her the use of the shower again, but Abe's instruction not to get the dressing wet meant that was out of the question, at least for now. She wore his shirt while they ate, after that she changed into the sweats and long-sleeved tee he'd brought from her room the night before. While she was in the bathroom she did notice there was a change in her shoulder. The last time she'd seen it, the dressing didn't cover the all of the bruise. This morning, that part of the bruise was gone completely. She moved her arm in a wider arc, searching for pain in that range of motion and finding a bit of residual ache and a feeling of the tape tugging at her skin, but nothing like the pain each movement had brought the night before.

Red went to look for Abe while Bethany got a tank top from her room. At least that way she wouldn't have have worry about wrapping up in a sheet. As long as she was in her own room, she took the opportunity to brush her teeth and make her hair a little more presentable too. The more she moved her arm, the more the ache receded. By the time she arrived in the library the Professor, Abe and Red were waiting for her. If it hadn't been for the dressing to remind her, she would have wondered why. She kissed the professor's cheek.

“You're feeling better this morning.” He said.

“Yeah. I'm sorry if I was nasty last night.” Bethany still had no idea why she had been in tears.

“Not at all. Between the lateness of the hour and the shock of the situation your upset was perfectly understandable.” He smiled. “If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to have a look at your shoulder. If you're not comfortable with that though, I'll understand.”

“No, that's fine. It's actually feeling a lot better this morning.” She started toward the lab. Abe walked next to her, Red walked with the professor.

“Better how?” Abe asked.

“Better as in it doesn't hurt. If the dressing weren't there, I wouldn't know anything happened at all.” Bethany sat down and pulled her arms out of her sleeves. Abe watched her raise her arms over her head to take the shirt off. “What?”

“Just getting an idea of your range of motion.” He moved around, getting supplies to change the dressing. Red was looking at her curiously. He moved behind her and put his left hand on her waist.

“Wasn't there a bruise there last night?” His heavy brows were drawn together.

“Yeah, but when I got up this morning it was gone.” Bethany slid the strap of the tank top down her arm and started pulling at the tape that held the gauze in place. Abe glanced at the professor, and then helped Bethany remove the dressing.

“That's-” Abe started.

“Remarkable.” The professor finished. He adjusted his glasses and moved closer.

“What is?” Bethany asked.

“It's gone.” Red sounded as surprised as everyone else. “Well, not all gone, but damn close.”

“Is there a mirror in here?” Bethany glanced around the room.

“I'll get you one in a moment.” Abe started to take off the tape holding the wounds together. “Perhaps Red is able to transfer some of his healing factor though bodily fluids.” Abe speculated.

“Wouldn't that mean it would be in all of his fluids?” Bethany asked.

“Most likely.” Abe continued tugging bits of tape off of the wound.

“Then I don't think that's it.” She said.

“We don't know that yet. We-” Abe started. Bethany's direct gaze stopped him. “Well, maybe just this once, we can make an assumption.” Bethany was sure that he was blushing, so was she. Red's left hand squeezed her waist gently.

“Unless it's conscious on his part, I don't think that's it either.” The professor said, breaking the awkward moment. He smiled over her shoulder at Red. “You bit me once, you know.”

“I did not!” He sounded surprised and horrified at the same time. The professor chuckled.

“I'm not surprised you don't remember, it was soon after we found you. You were having a tantrum about something, and I made the mistake of trying to restrain you.” The corners of the professor's eyes crinkled with the fond memory.

“Guess I was a handful, huh?” Bethany could hear a little embarrassment in Red's voice, but she could also hear a smile. She laced her fingers with his.

“You were, but it kept life interesting.” He gripped Red's granite hand for a minute. “Anyway, the bite healed in the amount of time you would expect from such an injury. Since we know your healing factor has been with you from the beginning, I don't think it simply transfers in your saliva.”

“Something brought about dramatic changes.” Abe cocked his head and looked at Bethany's shoulder for a minute.

“You said I could have a mirror.” Bethany prompted.

“Of course.” He found one in a drawer and handed it to Bethany.

Out of the corner of her eye, she had been able to see that the bruise was all but gone, now she had a clearer view. The large bruise had receded to an almost perfectly round spot a little larger than a half-dollar on the top of the muscle. The deepest cuts were still there, but they were very nearly healed. The shallower ones were gone completely and with no trace that they had ever been there.

“Wow.” It was all she could think to say. She pressed on the dark purple-black spot tentatively, expecting pain. There was none, so she pressed harder. She felt the pressure of her fingers, but nothing more. “It's almost like it never happened.” She caught Red's reflection in the mirror. It was clear from his expression that the swift healing didn't change how guilty he felt. She held his reflection's eyes for a long moment, but that was as much as she could do to reassure him with Abe and the professor both watching them. She handed the mirror back to Abe.

For the next few minutes she sat there while Abe and the professor prodded at the bruise and moved her arm, looking for pain. Bethany thought that they weren't going to stop until they actually found some or created some.

“C'mon guys,” Bethany sighed. “It's back to normal.”

“Yes, I see that.” The professor agreed. “We're still researching, but whatever the reason behind it, I can see that there's no physical damage.”

“I want to look at it again tomorrow.” Abe said.

“Sure, but if it keeps going at this rate, it'll be gone by then.” Bethany reached for her shirt. Red moved away from her long enough for her to pull it back over her head.

“Perhaps, but come back anyway.” Abe and the professor left. Red moved in front of her. She took his hand in both of hers.

“What'cha doin' today?” He moved between her knees.

“Lunch and then the range with Christine.” He kissed her lightly.

“Why ya gotta go there?” He was hiding the frustration in his voice. Bethany squeezed his hand.

“Because one of us has to be able shoot straight.” She smiled a little. Where he was going with this was clear, and she wanted to head off another fight.

“I'll show ya how good my aim is.” He smirked and pulled her closer. Bethany kissed him softly. “That the only reason?”

“It's his day off, and the rules are that he stays away from the range on his days off so that I can get in some practice.” She finished.

“You trust that?” The tone in his voice made it clear that he didn't.

“No.” Bethany admitted. “But that's why I'm going with Christine. Besides, he's a creep but he's not stupid. He's not likely to try anything here, there are too many people around.

He grunted in agreement, but he still didn't look happy. She realized that was probably the best she could hope for.

“See you tonight?” She stroked his palm softly with her thumb.

“You know it.” He kissed her firmly. Bethany sighed and pressed closer to him.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Hellboy couldn't concentrate on anything. Part of that was because he didn't want her going to the range, but part of it was because she was still so damn present in his room. The shirt she wore that morning smelled like her, and wherever he went that scent seemed to tease him.

He lay back on the couch and closed his eyes. He could almost feel her small hands on his skin, could almost convince himself that her small fingertips were floating across the sloping muscles of his chest with an excruciating languor before continuing down over his stomach. He started to pant when his body responded with an almost painful vigor. Course if she was there she would notice and probably tease him more. She'd let her fingers drift over his thigh before being bold enough to touch his hardened shaft, but when she did she'd wrap both her hands around it. Her skin was always a little cooler than his was, and for some reason the contrast turned him on more. He reached into his sweats and stroked himself. The sensation wasn't the same, but after wanting her so badly that morning and not being able to have her, it was good enough.

He groaned and lifted his hips off the couch long enough to push his sweats down. When he began stroking again, fluid was already starting to leak from the flared tip.

He let his mind drift back to how tight she was, his hand tightened. Sweat broke out on his skin as he plunged deeper into the memory. He stroked faster remembering the way she'd wrapped her legs around his waist and welcomed him into her depths, and the way he'd filled her so completely while her body tried to take more. He almost forgot to breathe as his hand moved faster. Inside, she'd been so soft and slick. He'd been able to feel the little tremors that went through her inner muscles as they stretched and accepted him.

He groaned, tension spread from the root of his erection to his stomach, his thighs and then further. His heart was pounding in his ears, but everything outside of his body was non-existent in that moment. His hand moved faster, needing release like he needed air. The memory of her mouth on him was all it took. His back arched tightly. His teeth clenched. He barely noticed the hot fluid that covered his hand and splashed over his stomach, but he felt the relaxation the followed release settle over him. For a time, he let himself get lost in it.

After a few minutes, the fog of desire and release began to clear. He got up and shed his clothes as he made his way to the shower. He wasn't half as satisfied as he had been last night, but at least now he'd probably be able to control himself when he saw her again.

Probably.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Bethany showered and changed, then met Christine in the dining hall at around noon. The agent was already dressed for the range. The two women filled salad plates and found a table in a quiet corner.

“How did Red like the cigars?” Christine asked.

“He loved them.” Bethany said. “You'll have to thank your brother for me.”

While they were out, Bethany mentioned wanting to bring Red a gift. Christine made a call to her brother and he told her about the tiny shop. The two women would never have found it on their own.

“Already done.” She smiled. “You know, I'm surprised you let him smoke.”

“Let him?” Bethany laughed. “How would I stop him?”

“I just meant that my father and my uncles all smoke cigars and my mother and aunts are always complaining about it and chasing them out of the house.” She laughed. So did Bethany.

“I've never thought of trying to change Red. If I did, he wouldn't be the guy I-” Bethany paused. “He wouldn't be the same guy.”

“You were going to say you love him.” Christine smiled a little.

“I wasn't-” Bethany blushed deeply.

“Yeah, you were.” Christine grinned. “Everybody saw how you two were yelling at each other in the conference room when Glen joined the team. You don't yell at someone in public unless you love them.”

“You don't?” That was a truism that Bethany wasn't familiar with, but now it gave a whole new meaning to the fact that Red was yelling too.

“Of course not.” Christine waved dismissively. “Think of how much energy it takes. Who gets that worked up over someone they don't care about?”

“I guess that makes sense.” Bethany was embarrassed all over again just thinking about it.

“Trust me, I come from a family of yellers.” Christine nodded. “It's how we communicate.”

Before Bethany could respond, the pager on her hip went off. A moment later, Christine's did too. Bethany sighed.

“Well, at least we got to have lunch first.” She said. They dropped off their trays and started toward the conference room.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Bethany and Christine arrived the conference room to find that Red and most of the other agents were already there. She glanced over at Red and noticed that Myers or someone have given him his Red Bull. She grabbed a bottle of water for herself and sat down next to him.

He leaned closer to her. “You sure you're okay to do this?”

“I'm fine.” She smiled up at him. Christine was right, she did love him, although she had no idea how she would ever tell him. Looking into his yellow eyes, she got the impression that he knew anyway.

“Looks like we're all here so we can get started.” Manning started. A map of West Virginia appeared on the screen. A red dot was placed in the southwestern portion of the state. Something about that seemed vaguely familiar to Bethany. She was half listening to Manning, and half trying to figure out why that distant bell was ringing in the back of her mind. His opening remarks were always more focused on the rules, how they had been broken on the last field mission, and how there wasn't to be any of that sort of nonsense this time. Finally, he started to get into why they were there. A picture of a sign reading “Bellamy Coalworks – Closed. Keep Out.” appeared on the screen. This one, Bethany was sure she recognized. She moved forward in her seat. The professor caught the movement.

“Bethany?” All eyes in the room turned to her. She felt instantly self conscious.

“That's the Bellamy mine outside of Henrysville, isn't it?” The question sounded tentative and unsure.

“Yes it is. You know it?” The professor was curious.

“Yes. I mean, no.” She took a deep breath. “Daddy and I lived in Henrysville for awhile, and there were stories about the mine.”

“Lovely. Thank you for the excursion down memory lane. Now can we get back to what we were doing here?” Manning's voice was impatient.

“What stories?” The professor asked.

“Can I remind everyone that time is of the essence here?” The edge in Manning's voice made it clear that he felt he had lost control of the meeting.

“Local legend is usually based in some sort of fact.” The professor said simply. He turned back to Bethany. “Tell us what you know about the mine.”

“People said that if you went in, you wouldn't come out.” She said.

“Stories to keep children from playing there.” Manning scoffed.

“Except it was true.” Bethany said. “Daddy always had me learn the history of where we were living. From what I remember, in the early twenties a group of six miners disappeared.”

“In a collapse?” The professor asked. She got the impression that he already knew the answers, but she answered him anyway.

“No, that's what was so strange. They went into the mine, that morning but didn't come out again at quitting time. At first it was assumed that they were overwhelmed by gas, but no bodies were found. The company was more interested in making money than in the safety of its workers, so the mine didn't really shut down, the bosses spread the story that the men had just run off. That didn't make sense because they all had wives and families. Less than a week later, eight more went missing. Again, no accident, they just went in and didn't come out. At that point, a lot of the miners were reluctant to go back into the mine. Of course, jobs weren't exactly plentiful, so they were stuck.”

“How many men total went missing?” The professor asked.

“Over the course of two months, close to fifty.” Bethany said. There was a gasp of shock from somewhere in the room.

“And no one ever saw anything?” The professor was looking at her curiously. Bethany wondered why she hadn't just kept her mouth shut.

“There was a story, but it was just a story.” She said. “One of the miners claimed that he saw someone being dragged into the rock.”

“I haven't found that in any historical source.” Abe said. “How did you come by it?”

“We lived next door to the son of the man who claimed to have seen it.” Bethany said. “I don't think anyone ever took him seriously, but the way my neighbor talked about it, you could just tell that he absolutely believed his father saw what he said he saw.”

“Interesting.” Abe said.

“Anyway, I'm sure you found that the mine shut down. The company said it was played out, but they were having a hard time finding people who were willing to go down into it. After it closed, there were stories of locals disappearing every so often. It was mostly kids and an abandoned mine is a dangerous place to start with.” Bethany hoped her part in this was finished. She didn't like being the center of attention.

“How long ago did you live there?” The professor asked, curiosity was sparkling in his eyes.

“Around four years ago.”

“Thank you.” He smiled. “Records don't really tell a very complete story. There weren't any other incidents before that?”

“Not that I know of. At least none that were in the story that was told to me.” Bethany said. “There were accidents, but nothing mysterious.”

The professor thought about that for a minute, though Bethany had no idea how to interpret that.

“The current situation is this,” He began. “The creatures that live in that mine – and I believe them to be a form of cavewight – have started raiding the nearby town. That's unusual behavior for subterranean creatures, and I think we have to assume that their lair has become permeated with their evil. They're drawing enough power from it to make forays out into the open, albeit at night. We don't know how many there are, so realistically what we want to do is reduce their numbers enough so that they aren't a continuous threat, and neutralize the place itself. To do that, we have to find them in the mine.”

The rest of the meeting was logistics of travel. According to Manning, the mine was inconveniently located in the middle of nowhere. The plane would land at Yeager Airport in Charleston, a regional airport that also served as an Air National Guard base. The rest of the trip would be made by road and then on foot. A general groan when through the room. Once they were dismissed, people began filing out.

“You alright?” Red asked.

“Yeah, why?” Bethany walked down the hallway next to him.

“I dunno, you went pale when Father was talking about going down into the mine.” He followed her into her room.

“What's a cavewight?” She took a duffel bag out of the closet. It she kept it packed and ready to go.

“A human corpse, animated by evil energy.” He shrugged a little. “Wights want to turn other humans into more wights. The normal ones ain't very smart, but cavewights live longer and get smarter.”

“Great.” She disappeared into her bathroom for a few minutes and reemerged in black fatigues.

“That why you're so upset?” He was leaning against the wall.

“No. Well I guess that's a part of it. The thought of being in the dark, underground with those things, like being buried alive.” A tremor went through her body. He kissed her softly.

“They ain't gonna come anywhere near you.” He sounded so sure of himself.

“Why's that?” She smiled a little.

“'Cause, you'll be with me, and you'll be wearin' this.” He grinned and pulled a small reliquary out of his pocket. It was capped in intricately designed silver and suspended from a braided silver chair.

“It's beautiful.” She put it over her head and stood on her toes to kiss him softly. “Thank you.”

“You don't look like ya feel any better.” He held her tightly.

“I don't know what's upsetting me really. I don't like tight spaces, maybe it reminds me of the dream you woke me out of this morning.” She stayed against him a minute longer, then stepped back and grabbed the bag.

“You remember what it was about?” He kept his arm around her shoulder.

“No.” She sighed. “I'm probably getting myself all worked up when I don't need to.”