"Ahhh", she sighed as her butt hit the couch and her feet flew off the ground.
She heard a snicker beside her and opened her eyes, watching as Crane set two glasses of wine on the living room table in front of them and joined her on the opposite end of the couch.
"Tough day, Leftenant?" He asked tenderly as they both picked up their glasses and enjoyed the flavor of the full-bodied red.
She smiled and sighed. "You ever have one of those days Crane where all you want to do is curl into a ball and put the world on mute so you can have some peace?"
He looked over at her and smiled, nodding his head.
"And believe you me, I understand the irony in the statement I just made. Because for 10 months all I had was peace and solitude. And it damn near drove me insane."
She stopped abruptly, but continued on.
"And now that I am back, in the land of the living, it seems that's what I'm craving most." She paused and closed her eyes, laughing softly. "Which is hilarious and sad and madly infuriating because for the life of me, I don't feel like the person who I used to be. And I'm not sure I ever will…"
When she opened her eyes again, she found his staring into hers. And quickly looked away.
Abbie had admittedly not done well with letting her fellow Witness in on exactly what she endured during her time away. And she could tell, with every glance and stare from his soft, blue eyes, that this fact saddened him to deep lengths. That she wouldn't allow herself to open up… not even to him.
"I wish I could do more… for you." She heard him say softly. And immediately regretted bringing up her feelings at all.
"You have Crane." She said as she reached over and grabbed his hand. "Your constant fretting over me and spoiling me to no end with gourmet meals and fancy wine by candlelight has been one of the only things keeping me here and present."
He chuckled and she let go of his hand, picking up her wine glass.
"It's helping me more than you know." She said softly as she finished it in two gulps. "To be honest, I think you're trying to get me drunk so I can forget what happened to me and fall into a state of bliss every other evening."
He laughed, picking up her empty wine glass and walking into the kitchen to re-fill it.
"While that is not my intent, Leftenant. If you find that wine helps, far be it from me to deny you its spoils."
When he returned to the living room, he saw her taking her boots off and placed the wine glass in front of her as she finished.
She had been working late hours since agreeing to rejoin the FBI force. And Crane had thought, a few too many times, of calling into Agent Reynolds and giving him a good piece of his mind for allowing her to maintain twelve hour work days without being fully healed.
But if the Leftenant was clear on one thing, it was boundaries. And though having a talk with Agent Reynolds would settle his mind, it would for sure cause more grief to Abbie.
And that was something he would never do.
So he sat by, hoping one day soon she would allow the impenetrable wall she held guarded in front of her to break down. And she would let him in. But for now, even if all he could offer was his presence at her side, that was what he shall give.
His thoughts were interrupted by an expletive coming from her mouth as he turned and saw red wine dripping from her chin onto her new white shirt.
"See Crane…. I'm drunk." She said as she laughed, placing the glass on the table in front of her and attempting to undo the damage that had already been done.
"Oh dear", Crane said as he jumped up and ran to the kitchen to get some club soda and a napkin. (He had learned that trick from Martha Stewart.) And he sat idly by as Abbie attempted to get the stain out of her shirt, failing miserably.
"Well.. I guess that's what I get for not changing into pajamas immediately when I get home." She looked over at him sheepishly. "Would you mind going to get me a shirt and shorts out of my drawer, Crane? I would get up but my feet are killing me and if I go into my room, I don't doubt I'd fall onto my bed and not wake up til the morning."
"Of course, Leftenant." He said warily. "But if it is sleep you desire, do not feel an obligation to continue this conversation here with me. I only want what is best for you."
"No." She said, rather fast. "I want to sit here… and talk. It's nice."
He nodded, blushingly, and disappeared for a minute to retrieve a new shirt and shorts.
When he had returned, the Leftenant was already unbuttoning out her work shirt. And it caught him off guard.
He handed her one of her favorite shirts & shorts to lounge around the house in, avoiding eye contact. And went to the opposite end of the couch, taking another long sip of his wine.
"It's okay, Crane. I'm decent." She said with a grin a minute later. "Do you not remember we've already seen each other shirtless thanks to the Sandman…"
He grinned, remembering the experience.
"How could I forget, Leftenant?" He said, a little less subtle than he had intended. And he watched her face study his, trying to decipher the meaning of his last statement.
Abbie had felt the subtle difference in him since her return. And admittedly, had brushed it off to him trying to acclimate back to having her in his life after the weeks she had been gone. But a woman knows…
Something had changed in her since her disappearance. But also in him. And it was something she wasn't yet ready to face. And damn sure wasn't yet ready to reciprocate.
She was lost in her thoughts when she heard him say her name loudly.
"Leftenant…" He called, for the second time. "You said your feet ail you?
"Sorry Crane… What?"
"Your feet…" He said with a little more force than intended. "They are sore, are they not? Allow me to remedy them, Leftenant."
She laughed, taken aback by his offer. "Crane, seriously. I'm fine. And don't you think you've spoiled me enough since? Now you want to rub my feet?"
His face took on a serious tone and a chill ran down her spine. "There will never be a such thing as spoiling you too much, Leftenant." He said as his eyes bore into hers.
She stood still, and thought about telling him she was fine and to respect boundaries. But a small part of Abbie also craved his attention. His touch. Anything from him that solidified that he was real and his presence was not a temporary figment of her imagination.
So she nodded softly and watched as he seemed surprised at her agreement.
Smiling softly, he scooted closer to her, bending over slightly to pick her feet up and place them in his lap.
He found himself laughing softly at her Hello Kitty socks that were a gift from Jenny a few Christmases ago. "Don't judge me Crane, they're comfortable", she once had told him.
He peeled them off slowly, throwing them down on the floor next to them and took her left foot into his hands.
Crane started off slowly, gently caressing her feet as if they were a most prized possession he was ever so lucky to hold. And Abbie closed her eyes as his fingers started to gently knead all the pains and turmoil of her day off of her. Taking her mind into a state of deep relaxation and contentment with every rub and squeeze.
"Damn, Crane." She said as she reached over to sip from her wine. "If I'd have known you knew how to do this all these years, we would have been having massage parties every evening."
He laughed. "I dare say, I'm glad this finds you pleasure, Leftenant. As I admit, this is my first go at a foot massage."
She stopped cold. "You never did this for Katrina?" She asked, and immediately wished she could've taken her words back. Bringing up his dead wife wasn't something that put Crane in the best of spirits.
He paused from rubbing her feet and looked over at her. "No." He said coldly. "This is something I've only just wished to do for you."
She looked away. Afraid of what his words meant and took another sip of her wine, allowing him to start back up with his massage and end that conversation as abruptly as it started.
When he switched to her right foot, Abbie fell in a trance. She closed her eyes, laying her head back on the sofa. After a few minutes, she felt his hands glide slowly up from her feet to her ankles. And soon, his hands were caressing and massaging her calves.
A soft sigh escaped from her lips as his hands touched her in ways they had never before. And she opened her eyes to see if Crane had noticed, and found him looking over at her. Still kneading and massaging, as his eyes glared into hers.
They were treading on dangerous ground here. Crossing boundaries they had never crossed. Abbie knew it. And she knew he did as well. But neither made a move to stop this sudden progression.
Instead her body had shifted, almost instinctively, to give him better position at her legs. Her back propped up on the side of the couch, she watched as he placed himself in the middle of her feet, parting her legs slightly.
Abbie dared not look into his eyes. Instead, focusing on his hands at her calves and innately aware of their ever slow but sure ascension above her knees.
When his hands reached the bottom of her thighs, she closed her eyes and reveled in his touch. Noticing when he scooted his position upwards so he was sitting directly in between her legs.
He concentrated on her left thigh first. Both hands rubbing and squeezing until she felt him switch sides and pay the same, immaculate attention to the other.
And it wasn't until he put one hand on each thigh, gently stroking her like an astute lover, that her eyes flew open, searching his for answers.
Were they really doing this? She thought to herself as she felt a pool of wetness forming at her core.
And looking into Crane's eyes, he was asking the same question. Asking permission…
Permission to pass beyond this already muddled line in the sand of their partnership to dive into far more dangerous waters.
And when he began caressing further into the inner parts of her thighs, she moaned, giving him all the answers he needed.
His hands pushed beyond the fabric of her square cut shorts, skirting around the most sensitive spots where her thigh met her core. And when his hand dared to touch further, gently brushing over the top of her lace panties, he felt her wetness and immediately lost his control.
"Crane..", she moaned heavily underneath him.
"Jesus, Abbie." He said lowly as she stared hungrily into his. "You have no idea how much I love you."
He had begun to bend over to take her mouth into his, when he heard the front door slam. Jenny appearing in the doorway...
Abbie & Crane scrambled to regain a hold of themselves as wide eyes and a shocked expression gazed over at them.
"Oh shit, guys", Jenny said as she turned around to give them privacy. "I'm so sorry, I'll come back another time."
"No. No. It's fine, Jenny." Abbie stated, now on her feet as she walked over to try to persuade her sister to stay.
"Umm… it is most definitely not fine, Abbie." Jenny said softly. "I am SO sorry to interrupt… Call me tomorrow, ok?"
And she turned to head out the door and back into her car.
Abbie put her head in her hands and turned around slowly, watching as Crane stood red-faced next to the couch.
"Leftenant….", he said softly as he watched her dart, eyes down, to her bedroom without saying a word.
"Abbie… please." He yelled, as she stopped suddenly and turned around.
"Crane…. I can't." She said softly. "I can't talk about this now…."
And she turned on her heels, heading upstairs to her bedroom as he was left wondering if there was any possible way to rectify what had just occurred.