I wanna thank my two excellent betas readers: sleepymr and irishlullaby13, whom without this fic wouldn't be as amazing as it is.
irishlullaby13 thank you so much for the emotional support dog idea, it gave the story, even more, meaning.
I wish you all a Happy New Year, may 2017 bring us lots of amazing fic and ichabbie4ever!
If Ichabod Crane had known any better he would have kept that silly small elf in his own coat pocket because now he had his massive Samoyed dog looking like she had been kicked out of a moving truck.
"I'm so sorry darling, but I'm sure we can find something similar here in Sleepy Hollow," he said. He petted the dog's head and she whined sadly.
He rose to his feet and left the airport with his bags in one hand and Sasha's leash in the other. The dog walked alongside her owner, looking as miserable as the icy pavement underneath her paws.
"You know it's not my fault, just a slight error of a well-meaning flight attendant, so will you please cheer up, baby girl?" Ichabod urged, lovingly. Sasha nudged his leg with her body as if to say she understood his regret.
"Good girl! Mom and dad will be delighted to see us. And we can work on finding you a new toy tomorrow, there's bound to be some kind of shopping mall in this town." Sasha waved her tail happily, her tongue lolling to the side.
A short while later, Ichabod and Sasha spilled out of the cab and continued walking towards his parents' house on Washington Lane. He knew his brother would be there by now. Studying abroad made them see each other a lot less but the love and affection they shared were always present during the monthly phone calls and weekly email messages they exchanged.
Abraham liked to know how his little brother was doing and in return Ichabod enjoyed telling him about his new teachers and how he just couldn't wait to get back home. Though Ichabod neglected to mention that, even though all the women he met were very nice, he was too focused on his studies to exchange much more than simple pleasantries. If he were to be completely honest with himself, they simply did not appeal to him at all.
He smiled as he looked upon the familiar street. Gosh, he had missed home. Though it was still a relatively new abode for his parents and he had only ever seen pictures, it was home. His parents had come here after his father had discovered some ancient info about their family roots and never looked back.
Sleepy Hollow was the kind of town that went "all the way in" as Abraham explained. Ichabod remembered his sibling sending him a rather excited voice message last Halloween saying, "You gotta get your ass here, Icky. This place is absurd. You'll love it. We even have a Headless man on a horse during a parade. A freaking parade, man. Finish that class of yours and move your ass here. I miss you, bro."
Now he stood in front of his parents' house, which had more rooms than they actually needed and enough Christmas lights to illuminate the entire block. He let go of Sasha's leash, telling her she should stay close while he walked towards the door and rang the doorbell. He shifted his weight from foot to foot as he waited. His mother, Cecilia, greeted him with her wide and welcoming smile.
"Come on in my darling boy, it's freezing outside," she said rushing him inside, "and you too, sweetheart!" She held the door open for both man and dog.
Sasha was frolicking in the snow. Ichabod and his mother laughed at the dog's antics, before he called her again, "Sasha, come." The tiny tufts of her ears perked and Sasha sneezed, upsetting the loose snow. She clamored to her paws and shook the snow from her coat before bouncing to Ichabod's side to follow him in.
"And the prodigal son comes home. I missed you, bro!" teased Abraham as he caught his brother in a bear hug.
"I missed you too, Abraham," Ichabod replied happily as he hugged his brother back.
"I see you've brought Sasha along as well; does that mean you're moving here?" Abraham asked, peering down at the canine as she sat next to Ichabod's feet and wagged her tail in greeting. She fidgeted impatiently and licked her lips, waiting to be acknowledged by the new human.
"I still have to go through some papers, but I was recently offered a position in the History Department at Sleepy Hollow University." Ichabod pulled his mother into his arms and kissed the top of her head when she yanked him away from Abraham.
"Son, that's wonderful news!" Victor Crane exclaimed as he entered the room and tapped his youngest son's shoulder.
"I was wondering if I could crash here for a few days until my apartment is ready?" Ichabod asked, embracing his father. Abraham rolled his eyes at the same time their mother did.
"Do you even have to ask, dear boy? Of course, you can. There's a vacant room next to your brother's. It will be good to have the house filled again," his father laughed and knelt down to pet Sasha. She responded by nudging his chin with her nose and covering his face with 'kisses' while wagging her tail with her entire body.
"As if Abbie didn't do just that when she visits, her mere presence seems to fill the whole place with energy and joy." Abraham murmured, almost mockingly, as a hint of jealousy colored his tone.
"Who is Abbie?" Ichabod asked, confused. Cecilia shook her head, chuckling lowly as she disappeared into the kitchen.
"Just the daughter-in-law your mother would approve of without a second thought," Victor murmured in good humor. "Oh, for crying out loud, who am I kidding? I would too. She's an excellent neighbor."
"I invited her and her family for Christmas, Victor dear," Cecilia called from the kitchen.
"Wonderful!" Victor said, clasping his hands and walking towards the beverage cart, laden with holiday goodies.
"Should I wonder why you're not already dating this 'excellent' neighbor? Ichabod queried. Abraham shrugged and was about to open his mouth to retort when their mother returned, holding a Christmas cookie tray and said, "Believe me, Ichabod, Abbie is too much for your brother."
"Mother!" Abraham cried out, seemingly scandalized, but Ichabod could see from the corner of his eyes how Abraham's body shook with laughter.
Ichabod laughed as well, accepting a generous cup of eggnog his father extended to him. It was only the 22nd of December and his parents already had an abundance of Christmas treats lying about the dining room. Cecilia knelt down and gave a large cookie to Sasha who licked it extra gently and then set it on the floor, just watching it, mesmerized.
"What's the matter with her? She usually loves my cookies." As prove to it herself, Cecilia took a bite from one of the cookies. She arched an eyebrow as she chewed the cookie not finding anything amiss.
Ichabod looked at his beloved Sasha. She was lying down, both paws stretched in front of her large body, the cookie resting between them. He knelt at her side and inspected the cookie. It was cut out of the image of an elf.
"Sasha, darling, it's okay if you eat it. Tomorrow we'll look for a new friendly elf, now please be a good girl and don't scare grandma Ceci, she all but had a heart attack thinking her cookies tasted bad," Ichabod softly said, rubbing between Sasha's ears. Her tail wagged sadly and she let out a dissonant sigh.
"Ichabod..." his mother said warningly, but her lips curled up in a slim smile.
"I know mother, you aren't really a grandmother…" Ichabod shook his head then teased. "Might I remind you, my existence is not solely dependent upon giving you grandchildren?"
"I know, I know. At least I'm a surrogate grandmother-to-be, just as soon as Jenny's baby is here," Cecilia retorted, giving a small affronted sniff. "I'll be more than happy to spoil that little princess as much as I am allowed. Since one of my boys is, forgive me Abe, completely unfit for marriage at this time—" Gee thanks, Mum. "—and the other wants to focus on his studies and only have four legged children..."
"Okay, now who is Jenny?" Ichabod was entirely too confused for his liking. Just how many locals had his mother unofficially adopted? Hopefully, she hadn't managed to amass the numbers she had in England.
"If mother could, she would have adopted the Mills sisters, but since they are adults all she could do was bribe them to come visit, eat her food and share their lives over tea," Abraham explained. "You know… the usual."
"My, my, mother, I believe only you would be able to do such a thing," Ichabod told her, half smiling half yawning. He blinked away the drowsiness in his eyes.
"You should try the bed, little brother. You look like you need a decent night's rest." Abraham said, smiling as he took a sip of his drink.
"You are absolutely right," Ichabod said, trying to hide another yawn. "Mother, Father the eggnog was excellent. Come, Sasha, let's go up and get some sleep. We'll have a long day tomorrow if we are to find you a new elf." Sasha got up and walked towards the stairs, waiting for Ichabod. He walked towards her and petted her head, nudging her a little so she would follow him.
"Goodnight," Ichabod wished them all. They returned the same and let him disappear to his room. Once in the room, he carefully removed Sasha's harness and placed it near the heat vent so it and her various patches could dry.
It was late afternoon on December 23rd and so far Ichabod had absolutely no luck in finding a new plush Christmas elf for Sasha. But he certainly had a little fun in this quirky little town.
Since leaving the house Ichabod had encountered children singing Christmas carols along the streets. The children had stopped to pet or give a cookie to Sasha—they were even polite enough to read her 'Please Pet Me' patch and pass on the good news by shouting 'Her tags says it's okay to pet her!' before doing so.
Most of the neighbors waved hello and everyone seemed to know everyone everywhere he went. Sleepy Hollow was as charming as Abraham had described. He missed this intimacy, the love only a small town like Sleepy Hollow could provide, or maybe he had missed his family more than he imagined.
Sasha jumped in and out of the snow banks and happily scampered around Ichabod's long legs. Ichabod looked up and closed his eyes feeling the fading sun rays of winter, hidden by pine trees. The evening was almost here and he was already missing the warmth.
His last stop was the shopping mall and if he couldn't find anything there, he would have to resign to making one. Although to be honest, his crafting skills with plush and fabrics weren't as good as his crafting with wood. But Sasha would not be happy with a wooden elf to lay her chin on. And for all she did for him, she deserved a proper replacement for her toy.
Ichabod had gone through at least five stores with Sasha on his toes and so far he had bought presents for his parents, his brother, a man named Joe Corbin, and his wife Jenny and also their upcoming baby girl. Now he was trying to figure out a present for their darling Abbie. Truth be told, he was feeling quite nervous about meeting the woman that his entire family was enchanted by.
What if she didn't like him? What if he didn't like her? It was rare for him to dislike anyone but it did happen on the rare occasion with those his mother took under her wing. And, more often than not, he ended up being correct with his initial assumptions.
Ichabod stopped in front of a jewelry showcase, a delicate necklace caught his attention. He thought about the picture he had seen in his parents' house of the Mills sisters and his mother. Abbie was tiny, with warm brown skin and had the most beautiful doe eyes he had ever seen. His mind told him: "she's a pixie fairy goddess" and he didn't even flinch to that comparison.
Perhaps a necklace was a bit too much; he didn't even know her yet. He sighed loudly and turned his head to check on Sasha only to notice she wasn't there at all. Panic coursed through his veins as he looked around frantically. He paced back and forth, his head turning left and right, his heart beating as fast as a hummingbird's wings.
The bags were knocking on his legs as he ran in search of his beloved dog. He was about to call for her when he emerged into the center court and saw an elf sitting on the floor talking to and petting Sasha. An elf. Of course, of course, if there was an elf in this crazy town he could trust Sasha to find it.
"Sasha!" He called as he stopped closer to the Santa's house decoration and the elf; his heart was somewhat calmer now that he had found her. "Santa's Workshop" was swamped with kids and parents, who were waiting in the line to meet Santa and take a picture.
"Is she yours?" asked the elf—a woman with soul-consuming brown eyes and a sweet smile.
She was so very small compared to Sasha, who had all but completely climbed on her lap, though she didn't seem to mind at all. Ichabod took his phone out and gently asked, "Would you mind posing for a picture? Sasha had a plush elf, but we lost it on our travel here and she hasn't been herself since."
"Oh! You poor adorable thing! We can't have that now, can we? Sure, go head and snap a few, I don't mind." She kissed the dog's nose and spoke softly to her, giving Sasha affectionate scratches behind her ears; Ichabod felt his heart melt at the sight. The elf hugged Sasha as Ichabod took pictures. His over-joyed pup opened her mouth as if she were smiling.
"I can't thank you enough, for a moment I thought I had lost her," Ichabod said with a relieved sigh. He offered his hand to her when he realized she was trying to stand. She grinned up at him and took his assistance to pull herself to her feet.
The elf looked down at Sasha and lightly flicked the patches on her vest. "You know you're not supposed to wander off from your human, right? That can be very dangerous for him."
Sasha cocked her head and gave a small, confused whimper.
"It's my fault, I was distracted and let go of her leash, which usually indicates she can wander... and she has a soft spot for elves," Ichabod said, feeling his face warm. But then the elf's eyes glimmered mischievously and he realized she had only been playfully scolding Sasha.
"Stay here sweetie, I've got a present for you," the elf cooed to Sasha, petting her face with care. Ichabod arched an eyebrow completely taken aback.
He finally took a good look at the elf and blinked because underneath all the makeup and the costume was, Abbie, the woman his mother adored. His eyes traveled to her petite body, long legs for a short woman, amazing butt, soft curves and curls that his fingers tingled to touch. He had, of course, noticed her lush and voluptuous lips before but now painted in red, he was positively jealous of his own dog.
The elf woman—Abbie, he reminded himself—returned with a small package in her hands and a big smile on her face. He would bet a small fortune that she could light a small town with her smile.
"We have gifts for kids and some emergency gifts for parents," she explained delivering the gift in his hand.
"You cannot be serious-" he started, dumbfounded.
"Look, it's my favorite time of the year, and I bet she is gonna love it." She winked at him and blew both of them a kiss, and added, "I better get back to the kids, some of them really enjoy elves." She knelt down and waved at Sasha. "Bye Sasha! Take good care of your human."
And that was it, the moment she robbed his heart.
Ichabod couldn't believe his luck as he arrived home and he opened the small gift to find a handmade plush elf inside. He called Sasha and showed her the new toy as she trotted over to him. She smelled it for a moment before picking it up gently with her mouth lying down on the floor. She hugged it with her paws and rested her jaw on top of it.
He took another picture and in a blissful moment decided to share a couple of the pictures on his Instagram. "My dog's favorite toy is an elf, imagine her happiness once she found a real one" he captioned, with a picture of Abbie as an elf hugging Sasha and another picture at the side with his hand holding her old elf toy.
He hadn't thought much about it as he turned off his cellphone screen and went to the bathroom for a quick shower, Sasha's eyes following all the way. He went on with his nightly routine and collapse on his bed without a second thought.
In the morning, Ichabod entered the kitchen and went on serving himself a coffee and sitting down to check his cell. He expected messages of "happy holidays" to come his way but, as he ran his thumb over his phone, he was surprised at the notifications. What had happened overnight?
The pictures had accumulated more than one thousand notes and it kept growing.
"Hey, little brother. So, you finally decided to pop a picture on Instagram and the internet went crazy," Abraham teased.
"I received a photo on my WhatsApp's of Abbie and Sasha. Honey, why didn't you mention you've met Abbie?" Cecilia asked.
"She looks splendidly adorable. Think we can print that picture and put it close to the Christmas tree, love?" Victor asked his wife, as she gently sipped her tea.
"Absolutely. I'll call Macey, I bet she can do that in no time," chimed in his brother, sitting at his side.
Ichabod would have asked who 'Macey' was but Mother's list of 'adoptees' was already long enough so he had no doubt she was another. He was still perplexed as to all the notifications. Finally, Ichabod said, "Hmmm, yeah. I… I do, I mean did. Sasha found her first."
"Oh, will you look at that! Did our little Abbie knock you down off your feet?" Cecilia preened.
"Mother!" He exclaimed, embarrassed.
"Well, you better put your act together, because they will be here at night." His mother laughed as she ruffled his hair.
And that's how, hours later, Ichabod couldn't for the life of him, choose a present for Abbie that didn't scream "be my bride" or "I'm irrevocably in love and I have yet to kiss you". He breathed and stopped in front of another jewelry store and tilted his head at the elegant bracelet in a small window at his eye level.
It was silver and had a blue stone on it, it wasn't so expressive and at the same time, it was very thoughtful. He entered the store, purchased it and was quite tempted in checking to see if the alluring woman was on her elf post today as well but Ichabod thought better and decided to partake in one of his most favorite past times... people watching with Sasha at his side.
As he arrived home he finished helping his parents lay the presents underneath the tree. His brother insisted he helped him hang up the mistletoe and cleaned the front porch. Ichabod happily obliged, the usual Christmas music playing from the iPod in the living room enveloping the house in pure joy.
Abbie was running late, that she was absolutely sure, but heck she wasn't expecting her niece to make her entrance so soon and now, not only was Abbie late for the Crane's family Christmas dinner, she was also late for her niece's birth.
Joe had laughed his head off when about thirty minutes after the baby's birth Abbie arrived at the hospital, wearing her elf clothes, worry in her eyes and her lips tight with anxiousness.
"Abbs! What in the world?" he asked, waving his hands over her choice of clothes.
"Is Jenny okay? The baby?" she questioned, taking her hat off and fluffing her hair.
"Come on, let's go see her," he told her, as he hugged her sideways and walked over the maternity ward.
Joe pointed at the baby, a dreamy smile playing at his lips, "Meet Miss Natalie Grace Corbin, she is perfect, isn't she?"
"You think they'll allow me to hold her?" she mused, picking her cell and taking some pictures.
A nurse came up and waved them in, clearly not caring for hospital visiting hours.
"It's Christmas after all." she told them as she gently picked little Natalie and walked towards them, with extra care she delivered the baby into Abbie's arms.
"Hi, sweetie, I'm your auntie Abbie!" Abbie cooed to her. Natalie's big gray eyes blinked and stared at her in awe.
"Okay, hold that pose. I'm taking a picture." Joe said, as he moved in front of her and took as many pictures as he could, smiling all the while.
Natalie drifted to sleep in Abbie's arms. With a bit of reluctance, not wanting to wake the baby, Abbie allowed the nurse to pick up Natalie.
Joe gave the nurse a wave of thanks then both the proud father and aunt left the maternity ward talking in low tones. Minutes later they entered Jenny's room only to find her fast asleep. Abbie kissed her forehead and she stirred in her sleep, mumbling something unintelligible.
"I better get back home and change these clothes; for us, Mills never miss a party and we shall not start today." Abbie gave her sister another kiss and hugged her brother-in-law, promising to be back late in the morning or in the afternoon.
She drove home easily; soft Jazz playing in the car, Abbie parked and entered her home. She took a quick shower and dressed up in a delicate red princess-line dress with matching stilettos, a light makeup and she was ready to go. At her door, she picked up a bag filled up with gifts and roamed over to the Crane's residence.
Abraham greeted her and brought her inside, calling his mother while he closed the door and took Abbie's bag from her hands.
"Hello, darling!" Cecilia exclaimed, taking her in a warm embrace. "Come, come, the boys are in the living room."
Cecilia hooked her arm with Abbie and asked her, curiously "Where is your sister, and that lovely husband of hers?"
Abbie smiled as they entered the living room and said, "Well, I'm not normally fashionably late, obviously there was a reason. Our little girl has decided to enter the world earlier than we expected."
"Oh, tell me we've got pictures." Cecilia preyed, her eyes shining with happiness.
"Is that me?" Abbie asked her eyebrow spiking up as she took a better look at her picture with the adorable dog in the shopping mall. How in the world had... But then she saw a familiar giant, white, fluffy ball carrying a plush elf in her mouth, on the heels of the man from the mall.
"Ah! Miss Abigail, we meet again," Ichabod said courteously, a smile playing at his lips. He took her hand and bowed over it elegantly before placing a kiss on her knuckles. "Sasha and I are forever in your debt."
"Did she like it?" Abbie questioned.
"She loved it," he said quietly and allowed her small hand to fall from his.
"Such a charmer, isn't he? This is my youngest son, Ichabod." Cecilia whispered conspicuously to her, as she gave her a cup of eggnog.
"You never told me you had a brother Abe and with so much better manners than you." Abbie teased, and added sweeping her phone to Cecilia, "and I do have pictures of little Natalie, lots of them."
"She is precious," Cecilia cooed as Abraham, Victor, and Ichabod surrounded her, all of them wanting to see the baby.
"How is Jenny?" Victor asked, walking towards the table to munch on some walnuts.
"Tired, but I'm sure she would love to be here with us, and wishes you all a merry Christmas," Abbie told them walking towards the table but stopping when Abraham called her attention, making her and his brother who had also moved to the table stand right underneath the mistletoe.
"Oh, brother, look. Mistletoe. You wouldn't dare say no to our dashing Abbie, now, would you?" Abraham questioned Ichabod, making him blush in ways Abbie was certain he hadn't in quite a long time.
"Abraham, don't be rude!" Abbie moved to stand in front of him, and without him noticing took his hand in hers, "Honestly what kind of-" he stopped mid-sentence when he finally noticed her warm hands on his.
"It's Christmas, Ichabod, don't tell me you're shy." Abbie tantalized him. She grinned in a way that wrinkled her nose and made him forget about everything around him until Sasha nudged the back of his knee with her nose.
Ichabod took a quick look towards his family. Abe and his father were pretending to not look. Mother was making no pretense of anything and was twisting a hand towel, her eyes large and eagerly awaiting what came next. He pulled Abbie gently against his body, her shoes giving her the height necessary for their lips to meet smoothly.
It was supposed to have been a fast and chaste kiss but at the moment their lips touched it was as if something had clicked inside them. Abbie's hands found the nape of his hair, his found the curve of her waist and entwined into the soft curls near her cheek.
They might have kept kissing had Sasha not decided it was time to pay her attention. She made a soft growling sound and swatted at Ichabod's leg with her paw. Abbie and Ichabod reluctantly let themselves go and licked their lips as if to memorize the others taste.
"Hey, girl!" they said in unison, somehow ignoring the spectators around them so as to focus on giving Sasha attention.
"Did you record that, because I feel like we might have a wedding soon," Cecilia asked her elder son, as she hugged her husband's arm and smiled dreamily at them.
Victor scoffed and shook his head as he escorted his wife to her seat. "They just met, Ceci... and it was mistletoe. It doesn't count."
After dinner, they exchanged gifts, Ichabod being surprised that somehow Abbie had brought more gifts than he would have expected and had one for him as well, which was a book "The Secret Founding of America." She smiled, commenting that the bracelet stone was the same color as his eyes. He had blushed and his family had teased him. As if it was something she often did, Abbie kissed his cheek and stroked her fingers over his beard absentmindedly.
Abraham had loved the gifts he had gotten so far, a shirt from Jenny, a horrible Christmas sweater with a reindeer on it from Joe and a cologne from Abbie. His parents had given him clothes as well, while his brother gave him some new music, Abbie had laughed about it, saying someone had to rescue Abraham from the sad notes of Chopin and Beethoven.
Cecilia and Victor got bedclothes from the Mills sisters and Joe, the brothers had coordinated their presents and bought their parents matching cups for tea. The others gifts were put aside so they could give them to Joe, Jenny, and Natalie later. Sasha was more than happy to stay lying down underneath the Christmas tree playing with her toy.
3 years later
Abbie sat down on Ichabod's lap. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed his lips lovingly. He somehow managed to pick up a small box from inside his pocket coat and cupping her face with one of his large hands he asked, "My dearest, my love, my little elf, will you marry me?"
"Are you recording it?" Cecilia asked, with little Natalie in her arms, Jenny, Joe and Abraham sitting on the sofa and Victor bringing on drinks.
"Absolutely." And she kissed him again, mistletoe hanging right over them.