A/N: Second fic. Based on episode 8 of Sleepy Hollow. What if Moloch came too late, and the horseman stabs Crane? What then?

fyi: for you who don't know (because I know some of the names are difficult to remember, Irving is Abbie's boss, you know, the captain guy that works with her? Yeah, just letting you know…

Chapter One: Friend to Foe

Crane's sword clashed against the horseman's, the ringing sound of metal echoing off the cage walls. Crane tried to "keep the cool" his lieutenant spoke of, but he was beginning to panic. His long lost friend, whom he missed dearly and wished he had never left behind or betrayed, had come back from the dead to destroy him. And it was, after all, his fault.

With a sharp hit of the horseman's hand against Crane's arm, Crane's sword went clattering to the ground. Death grabbed him by the neck, instantly cutting off his airways and slammed him against the thick wall behind him, pinning him to it.

Crane struggled, but Death's grip was far too harsh. He had absolutely no strength compared to the lord of the dead.

"And now…you shall die." Brooks spoke for the horseman, his eyes still glossy black like a demon's.

The horseman's sword plunged forward, and Crane moved just in the nick of time to avoid being stabbed in the heart, but not nearly as fast as he would have liked. The blade drove in through his skin, piercing deep down into his shoulder, just below his collarbone, but just next to his heart.

Brooks' eyes cleared and monsters of different forms appeared in the cage, then disappeared with Brooks and Death, leaving Crane still against the wall. He dropped to his knees, his eyes staring wide at the sword still imbedded in his shoulder. He could feel the steel was right in between two bones, and it would be painful to pull out.

Abbie burst through the door with Jenny and captain Irving. While Jenny and Irving were slow to react, Abbie rushed over to Crane, not even bothering to holster her firearm and it dropped to the ground.

She dropped to her knees in front of Crane, and just in time, she caught him as he fell forward, although he wasn't unconscious…yet. Abbie minded the sword sticking out of his shoulder, and she cringed.

Carefully, she shifted him onto his back so his head lay in her lap. Crane looked up at her with half closed eyes, struggling to stay awake.

"Crane, stay with me." she said, seriously, but on the inside, she was freaking out. She couldn't stay calm when he was bleeding to death in front of her eyes. She couldn't loose another one of her partners, especially not this close of one.

Jenny and Irving were now on their knees, too, next to the pair.

"I know…who the horseman…who he is." Crane struggled to speak, gasping for a shaky breath. His eyes squeezed shut and he pushed his head back, trying to ease the pain but to no avail.

"Tell be about it later, Crane. We have to fix you up." Abbie looked at Jenny and her boss as she spoke. "We're gonna pull this sword out. Stay still."

Crane suddenly grabbed Abbie's hand. Not a tight grip, but more of a pleading one, just like his eyes were begging for help. But what type of help, Abbie had no clue. Abbie smiled weakly, brushing his curled brown hair out of his eyes. "Trust me, Crane. You gotta trust me."

Crane nodded, just barely, before closing his eyes tightly and releasing Abbie before clenching his fists. Jenny wrapped her hands around the handle of the sword, taking a deep breath, while Irving held Crane still, but careful not to put pressure near the wound while doing so.

"On three?" Abbie asked. Jenny nodded.

"One…" Abbie continued to brush his hair, her hand resting on his head to keep him calm, at the least, give him comfort.

"Two…" Jenny flexed her fingers around the handle, licking her lips anxiously.

"Three!"

Jenny pulled, hard, but straight upward. The sword came out, but not cleanly since it was stuck between the bones. Crane cried out, gripping tightly onto Abbie's jacket collar. She was sure he wasn't looking where he was grabbing, it was just something to hold.

Abbie carefully leaned forward and pulled him closer to her chest, while covering the bleeding wound with her hand, tightly. She lightly rocked back and forth, trying not to panic, trying to stay calm for him. She could tell by the footsteps that Jenny and Irving had stepped away, giving them space.

"Crane? Crane…it's over…you'll be okay. Okay?"

She heard him reply with a simple 'okay' before his whole body went still. Abbie pulled away but still held him close to her, and she noticed he was out cold. But even so, his eyes were shut tightly in pain.

Abbie looked up at Irving and Jenny, then back down to Crane.

A/N: I know, I'm a horrible person. It keeps me up at night all the time…(Complete sarcasm. Learned it from Stiles Stilinski, if you were wondering.)