"Hey, Red, can we talk?"

Hellboy looked up from cleaning the Good Samaritan, and saw Liz standing in the doorway of the armory. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her shoulders hunched and she shifted nervously, but she kept her eyes on him. They were a deep brown and sad looking.

He knew that look.

He did not like that look.

"Yeah, sure," he replied, returning his attention to the revolver. If he kept his eyes focused on the gun, then he wouldn't have to look at Liz. And if he didn't have to look at Liz, he didn't have to fully believe whatever she was going to tell him. Unfortunately, he had a pretty good idea what she came to talk about.

"H.B., can you look at me? Please?" she pleaded.

Hellboy tossed his revolver aside, pinching the bridge of his nose with his left hand. Finally, after sighing heavily, he turned his attention back to Liz.

"What do you want to talk about?" he asked.

Liz shifted around again and dropped her gaze for a moment. The air was tight and tense, like someone had a vice grip around them. Hellboy was getting annoyed. He wanted her to say whatever it was she was going to say. Finally, she looked back up at him again, her face set, devoid of all emotion.

Crap, he thought.

"I'm going away for a while." she announced.

Hellboy's eyes widened in surprise. Going away? What the hell did she mean?

"What, are you going on vacation or something?" he joked, trying to lighten the mood. But one look at her face told him this was not some tropical cruise or anything she was planning on taking.

"I'm going…" she sighed, playing with the ends of her long brown hair. "I'm going to go get some help. My powers...my powers are really hard to control, Red, and I can't do it on my own anymore."

"Okay...who's going to teach you? Does Father know another fire starter that can teach you?"

Liz shrugged. "No, not really,"

Hellboy chuckled. "What, then?"

Liz placed her hands on top of both of his. She never seemed to mind touching his right stone hand. In fact, she never looked at him weirdly, not even when they first met. It was one of the things he really liked about her.

"I'm going to a psychiatric hospital." she said quietly.

Hellboy couldn't help the sharp gap. His eyes widened in surprise, searching her face. It had to be a joke. No way was she going to a place like that, and he told her as much.

Liz sighed and shook her head. "Hellboy, it's not your decision. It's mine. And honestly...I can't do this job anymore," she admitted quietly. "I can't...I can't control my powers the way I want to. I'm tired of the black outs, the explosions. All of it. I just...I just can't anymore."

It was quiet again, tense. Hellboy didn't like it when it was tense. Not with her, not with Liz.

Liz sighed and squeezed his hands. He didn't want to, but he squeezed back.

"There's someone, a doctor, actually, that the professor said could help. She specializes in...well, in cases like mine," Liz explained quietly.

Hellboy opened his mouth to say something, but closed it. Instead, he nodded. Liz clearly made up her mind, whether he liked it or not.

He wanted to tell her he'd miss her, that he loved her. But he couldn't admit that. Not yet, or ever, really.

She gave him a small smile before standing up. She walked over and gave him a small peck on his cheek. Liz turned to walk out when suddenly, she stopped. She looked over her shoulder at him.

"Hey, Red?"

He raised a quizzical brow. "Yeah?"

"No matter what happens with me or the Bureau, just know...just know that...that they don't deserve you."

She didn't wait for him to answer, walking out the door instead.

Hellboy couldn't move. A tightness in his chest slowly grew in intensity. It hurt, like nothing ever hurt before.

"They don't deserve you."

Hellboy could've said the same about her.