Abbie had never liked Christmas much. Actually, that wasn't true. When she was little, she had loved Christmas. She had loved helping to make the food and she had loved finding gifts for people. As she has grown older though, it had lost a little of its magic. The last few years, she hadn't really bothered. She pushed it aside in favour of just taking a break from work.
This year though, Abbie wanted to do things a differently. She thought that Jenny's idea for thanksgiving had been wonderful, even if it hadn't quite worked out. Something traditional and familiar was just what they needed; even if it wouldn't be totally familiar to Ichabod.
She talked to Jenny first,
"Hey, you know how we did the whole Thanksgiving thing?" she asked,
"Yeah, what about it?" Jenny replied, not looking up from the book she was reading,
"I was thinking, do you want to do it again? For Christmas, I mean," she asked, tentatively,
"Sure, why not," Jenny said, still not looking up,
"Really?" Abbie asked, surprised. She had expected that it would take at least a little while to talk Jenny into doing this,
"Sure, why not?" she said again, more deliberately, finally looking up, "I'll do the turkey." Abbie smiled, before turning to leave the room. Now she just had to talk Ichabod into this.
Ichabod took a little more convincing,
"Come on, this'll be good for us. Jenny was on to something with Thanksgiving," she said,
"That may be true Abbie, but it hardly seems appropriate," Ichabod snapped,
"Why not? Why shouldn't we take time out to celebrate the good things in life?" she asked, "It seems especially appropriate right now." She raised her eyebrows, knowing she didn't need to ask again,
"Oh very well," replied Ichabod, "What does celebrating Christmas in this era entail?" he asked, sounding a little wary,
"We won't make a big deal of it, I promise," she said, "Jenny offered to do the turkey, and I'll keep an eye on her to make sure it turns out ok," she continued, "And I was thinking I could make apple pie,"
"Is plum pudding no longer a tradition?" asked Ichabod, looking genuinely upset,
"No, it is, but I can cook apple pie," said Abbie, smiling, "Besides, I like apple pie much more,"
"Well, in that case, apple pie it is," Ichabod said, smiling right back.
Abbie was framing the mirror on the living room wall with tinsel. Stepping back, she looked up at her handiwork, nodded. It wasn't perfect, but it was close enough. She looked around, seeing if there was anything else that needed doing. The tree was small, but it was pretty, and there was a little cluster of presents underneath it. Abbie smiled, wondering briefly when the last time she'd had a tree actually was. She inhaled deeply, breathing in the smell of turkey, layers of spice and sugar woven underneath. It shouldn't have worked, really, but somehow it was wonderful. She breathed in again, before she was interrupted by a knock at the door. Knowing it would be Ichabod, Abbie looked around the room one more time before walking over to answer the door. Opening it, she looked up to Ichabod smiling down at her, two presents clutched under his arm,
"How are you?" she asked,
"All the better for seeing you," he replied, causing Abbie to roll her eyes. She hugged him, and felt him freeze for a second before returning the hug with his free arm. She stood back, still smiling, and turned to lead him into the living room. He followed, walking over to place his presents under the tree. Abbie already knew what was in one of them, because Ichabod had asked for advice as to what he should get Jenny. The other present though, was a mystery, mostly because of its odd shape. She looked at it for a few more seconds, before turning to see where Ichabod had ended up.
She found him in the kitchen, saying hello to Jenny, who was making gravy. He leaned against the counter, gazing idly at the stove, and Abbie found herself staring. Ichabod stood with an easy dignity, his back straight even while leaning against something. Ichabod looked over at her, and Abbie abruptly looked away, not wanting to be caught staring. She walked over to the cupboards, getting plates and cutlery. She went to put them on the table, and smiled a little when she saw that Jenny had put Christmas crackers on the table. Abbie was willing to bet that she had done it for the sole purpose of seeing Ichabod's reaction, but it was nice either way,
"Hey Jenny, how much longer do you think that's gonna be?" she called,
"A few more minutes," she called back, "Do me a favour put the turkey on the table." Abbie did so, before returning to the kitchen to get the dish of roast vegetables and a carving knife. She placed them on the table and sat down, figuring she'd wait for the others to be ready.
Ichabod walked in a few seconds later, followed by Jenny, who was carrying the gravy boat. Jenny put in on the table, before taking her seat,
"Would you like me to carve the turkey?" Ichabod asked,
"Go for it," Abbie replied handing him the knife. Ichabod stood up, and began carving as if it was the easiest thing in the world. Abbie had to admit that she was impressed. Whenever she did it, the slices were always a little rough around the edges.
Dinner passed without much more than polite conversation. Things got really interesting when Jenny offered Ichabod a cracker,
"Grab the end and pull," said Abbie, in response to Ichabod's baffled expression,
"Why?" he asked, still confused,
"You'll see," said Jenny, smirking. Abbie watched, trying not to laugh, as Ichabod pulled at it and was completely shocked at the noise it made. Jenny burst out laughing, apparently not bothered at all that she had lost. Ichabod looked inside the cracker curiously, and looked even more surprised when he saw what was inside,
"What is the purpose of these objects?" he asked,
"They're just meant to be a little fun," Abbie replied, "Here, pass me that piece of paper." Ichabod handed her a folded piece of pink paper, which Abbie unfolded into a crown. She placed it on Ichabod's head, "Come and have a look," she said, grinning. Ichabod got up and walked over to the mirror in the living room. Abbie would have given a year off her life to have a camera at the moment he saw the paper crown on his head. Jenny was clutching her sides, she was laughing so hard,
"Is this really necessary?" Ichabod demanded, looking very annoyed,
"Absolutely" said Jenny. Abbie smiled, but relented a little,
"Alright, alright, Jenny, get a cracker and bring it over here." Jenny offered the end to Abbie, who grabbed it and pulled. She lost, and smiled as Jenny placed a green paper crown on her own head. Abbie looked over to Ichabod, who was smiling slightly. She grabbed a cracker before walking back over to Ichabod, offering it to him. Abbie was more pleased that she should have been when she won. She pulled out a red crown and placed in on her head, adjusting it slightly in the mirror. Ichabod was smiling widely now, apparently completely fine with looking ridiculous as long as everyone else did too. Which made sense, Abbie supposed, although she couldn't help but notice that Ichabod looked oddly adorable with the crown perched on his head. Abbie shook her head slightly, wondering where that had come from,
"Shall we open the presents?" Ichabod suggested, disrupting her train of thought,
"Sure," Jenny said, sitting cross-legged in front of the tree, "Who first?" Abbie joined her on the floor,
"Ichabod, come and sit down," she said. When he had, she passed him a present, "I know I already got you something, but we both thought you needed this, so here you go." Ichabod took the present, a small smile on his face. He opened it neatly, and stared blankly at what he found,
"You got me a phone?" he asked. Abbie was slightly surprised, but thinking about it, he had been here for a few months now. She wondered if he actually knew how it worked,
"Trust me, you needed one," said Jenny, "There's some pretty cool stuff you can do with that. Get Abbie to show you sometime," Jenny smirked. Abbie rolled her eyes, and then passed an envelope to Jenny,
"Merry Christmas," she said. Jenny opened the envelope, looking slightly confused. She pulled out a folded piece of paper, scanning it quickly before spotting the words 'gun licence',
"Is this what I think it is?" she asked,
"Yes. You wouldn't believe the number of strings I had to pull to get that, so don't mess it up, okay?" Abbie said, "Now open Ichabod's, they go together,"
"Joint presents now, huh?" Jenny asked, an eyebrow raised,
"Yes, now open it," Abbie said, giving her a look. Jenny reached over to grab the present, opening it quickly. She opened the box inside to find a handgun and a box of bullets,
"I don't know what to say," Jenny said, looking a little overcome, "Thank you Ichabod,"
"That's quite alright," he said, smiling. Abbie couldn't help smiling too,
"Here. Merry Christmas," Jenny said, handing Abbie a gift bag. Abbie looked inside and found a bottle of champagne, she looked up and Jenny in amazement, "You know me," Jenny said, "I was never good at people,"
"No, no… Thank you, Jenny," she said, smiling warmly,
"Why don't you open your other present and then I'll go and get some glasses?" Ichabod offered,
"Alright," Abbie replied, "But I'll do it. I can serve dessert at the same time," she said. She took the oddly shaped present that Ichabod held out to her. She opened it carefully, wondering what on Earth it could be. Inside, she found a stocking, similar to the one she had given to Ichabod, except that this one was filled with candy, and an orange,
"It was something of a tradition, back in England," he said. Abbie wondered why he didn't say 'back home,' "Of course, oranges were much more difficult to come by back then," he smiled, almost self-deprecatingly,
"Thank you, Ichabod," Abbie said quietly, surprised to find that her eyes were prickling slightly. She blinked rapidly, "It's wonderful," she smiled.
Abbie stood up and walked into the kitchen. She pulled the pie out of the oven, pausing for a moment to inhale the scent of apple and cinnamon. It was true that she liked apple pie a lot more than plum pudding, but there was also a part of her that wanted to honour Corbin, somehow. She pulled herself together, turning to get plates, but finding Ichabod walking into the kitchen,
"I came to see if you needed any assistance," he said. Abbie looked up at him, as she always did, but then saw above Ichabod, and looked up further. Mistletoe. They were standing under mistletoe,
"Jenny," she called, "You wouldn't happen to know anything about the mistletoe in the kitchen, would you?" she asked,
"Not a clue," Jenny called back, sounding smug. Abbie sighed,
"Sorry," she said, "Don't mind her,"
"It's alright," he said, "This isn't a declaration of romantic intent. We are merely honouring a tradition." Abbie frowned slightly, but then there were lips against hers, and her eyes fluttered closed. Ichabod's lips were a little dry, but they moved skilfully against her own. She found herself kissing back, warmth spreading from her lips and pooling in her stomach. Ichabod pulled away, and smiled at her,
"Merry Christmas Abbie," he said, "Are you sure you don't need any help?"
"No no, I'm fine. You go back in and sit down," she said, blushing. Ichabod did just that, and Abbie stared at him as he walked away, trying to get her breath back. She licked her lips, which were still tingling pleasantly.
She was so screwed.