Author's note: I do not own Trinity Blood or its characters. This is set after the anime.
Keep Me Safe and Hold Me Tight
Abel was startled to see movement in the foyer of the AX's offices. It was late at night, or early in the morning depending on your point of view, and everyone should have been in bed. It was Christmas Eve for one thing, and Abel knew that everyone has exhausted after this latest fiasco. Earlier today, several vampires had escaped the Inquisition's prison and had taken Cardinal Sforza hostage. It had taken over twelve hours and in the end Abel's interference to rescue her. He would have been asleep himself save for the fact that he had errands that had to be finished for Christmas, and the whole hostage situation those errands had been delayed.
He scanned the shadows of the room for a person. The giant Christmas tree was dark; its lights turned off until the morning. But there by the fireplace, he made out someone's form.
"Hello?" Abel took a step forward. "Are you all right?"
The person lifted their head, and Abel immediately knew who it was.
"Caterina."
She mustered a small smile, almost invisible in the light of the dying fire. She was in her night gown, with her long hair pulled back into a thick braid. No robe or slippers though. Abel frowned. Within moments he had crossed the room to gather her up in his arms and seat them both in chair beside the fireplace. Caterina just buried her face in his shoulder. Abel gently stroked her back, holding her close. He couldn't understand why she wasn't freezing. He at least was still in his uniform, but her nightgown could not be very warm, and the fire was barely providing any heat at this point.
"Cat?" he invoked her childhood nickname.
"I keep having nightmares," her voice was soft. "I was so scared to day. I thought I was going to get some of you killed."
Abel could think of nothing to say in response to that, so he just hugged her. It was a legitimate fear. And he knew that Caterina hated it when she was the one who potentially put her people in danger. She was closer to the members of the AX than she was to her own family, and Abel was well aware how the loss of any member of her organization affected her. They had been lucky today though to escape the fiasco with only minor injuries.
He finally settled on saying, "I was scared too. I didn't know if we were going to be able to save you."
She glanced up at him. Abel cuddled her a little closer. He didn't know if Caterina knew just how much she meant to him. If it weren't for her, he would probably still be wallowing in misery beside Lilith's tomb. And quite frankly, he did not want to face failing someone he loved again. It had been hard enough losing Lilith. Abel didn't think he could deal with losing Caterina as well. She shivered slightly in his arms.
"Come on, let's get you back to bed. You'll be warmer there."
She shook her head. "No. I won't be able to sleep anyway. I'd rather stay here. Besides, we'll just have to get up in a few hours anyway when Leon brings the children from the orphanage here to open the presents."
Abel frowned. She was going to freeze in just her nightgown, but Caterina was stubborn as a mule. He wasn't going to convince her to leave, so Abel would just have to come up with another plan.
"All right. Stay here and build up the fire. I'll be right back."
Caterina arched an eyebrow at him, but she slid off his lap and set about building up the fire. Abel hurried back to his own quarters. He did change into his nightshirt, robe, and slippers because you couldn't have Christmas morning if you weren't in your pajamas. He also grabbed a comforter off his bed. Abel's next stop was the kitchen. It did not take him long to whip up two mugs of hot chocolate. Thus armed, Abel returned to the foyer.
The fire that Caterina had built up was burning brightly. Abel smiled and handed her one of the mugs of cocoa. He set the other mug on the fireplace mantle and wrapped the comforter around her shoulders. Caterina took a seat in front of the fire while Abel plugged in the Christmas tree lights before joining her in front of the fire. He sipped at his hot chocolate.
"Feeling better?"
Caterina nodded and sipped at her own cocoa. "Hot chocolate has that affect."
"Good."
They sat together in companionable silence, just watching the fire. Caterina ended up resting her head on his shoulder, and somehow the comforter wound up wrapped around them both. Caterina sighed softly, her face content. She appeared to be dozing off. Abel wasn't sure when he himself dozed off, but he woke to a horde of children with smiles and excited eyes crowed around the tree.
"Sister Kate says we can't open the presents until Lady Caterina wakes up," one girl informed him.
Beside him, Caterina stirred. "All right, I'm awake."
The children don't care that she's really still half asleep as they attack the mound of presents under the tree. Caterina just leaned against him and smiled sleepily.
"Your present is under there somewhere, but I'm not willing to brave the fray in order to get it."
Abel laughed. "I don't blame you. I can wait. It won't be long before the children are finished."
However, he did pull a little, brightly wrapped package out of his robe pocket. "Merry Christmas, Cat."
Her grey eyes lit up. "Thank you, Abel."
She tore into her gift with the same enthusiasm as the children. Within moments she had the wrapping off and was prying the lid off the box. Her smile when she lifted the delicate wooden pendant out was nearly incandescent. Caterina kissed his cheek.
"Merry Christmas, Abel."