I was alarmed, woken deep in my slumber by a loud noise coming from my window. It was a dreary night, I assumed it was just the outside tree brushing up against the glass. I squinted at my alarm clock, 12: 54, it said. I yawned and nuzzled my face in my pillow, ready for sleep again. Not even a second after I got comfortable, I heard the noise again, this time it had a consistent rhythm, like a knocking. My eyes widened in fear of what I might find. It was probably Count Spankulot again (who over the years had turned into a total perv to teenaged boys, and I swear he was trying to put "the moves" on me…). I slipped on my gloggles (that's what my mom called them) and took a deep breath, my shaky hand ready to pull up the blinds. But I was SO not ready to be butt-raped after the day I'd had… I finally pulled the string and let out a yelp, not loud enough for Tommy, down the hall, to hear. I tumbled backward off my bed and hit the floor, head first. I scrambled to my feet and stared out my window, beholding the form standing on a ladder. Not who I was expecting at all.

Quickly, I climbed onto my bed and raised the window as silently as possible. The look on my face must have been ghastly bewildered.

"Boy, you look like you've seen a ghost. You musta been lookin' in da mirror 'cuz you know you're as pale as one…" she chuckled as she teased me.

I tried to soften my face, and most likely I was blushing. My typical reaction to her intimidating presence. I rubbed my neck instinctively as I gazed into her chocolatey eyes.

"D'I-I… Just wasn't expecting guests…" I finally spoke, "I would've tidied up…"

I looked down and noticed my almost nakedness. I gasped and hastily pulled the sheet over my bare chest. "O-or put some clothes on…" Damn, this was embarrassing…

She let out a small laugh. "Abby's seen ya in yo undies before… Sir Gets-Pantsed-A-Lot." I blushed furiously at that. "So you gonna let Abby in? Or are you plannin' on lettin' 'er catch a cold?"

"Oh, y-yeah, of course, come in…"

Abby climbed in the window and kicked off her shoes and threw her jacket on my floor. She made herself at home, sitting cross legged on my bed. I noticed immediately what she was wearing… and who wouldn't have? The 16-year-old was wearing a light blue satin camisole, v-neck (very….. very v-neck….), lacey around the embroidery, with matching shorts that barely covered any of her thigh. Her long onyx hair hung loosely down her back, not in its usual braid or ponytail, which was a very rare sight indeed. But what grabbed my attention the most about her appearance… was that her… n… n-nipples poked through her cami. Quite obviously. Was she aware of that? I swallowed the lump in my throat and pulled the covers more over my boxers, feeling the drastic rise in them, hoping Abby wouldn't notice.

I returned my attention to her eyes , noticing they were shiny and moist. Had she been crying?

"A-Abby is something wrong?" Dammit, why couldn't I stop stuttering? 'Ya big, awkward idiot!' I cursed myself.

Her face softened into sadness as she averted her gaze out the window. "Abby just doesn't want to be alone…"

I wasn't going to pry from her, never would I ask her to give me any more than what she gave. I would wait for her to tell me in her own. But as I looked into a beautiful face so full of melancholy, my heart was aching just as much as hers was. I felt her pain and I wanted to just die.

"Well…" I began, laying my hand on her knee, smiling sympathetically. "You know where to find me, and I'll always be here."

She gave me a soft smile, the anguish slowly faded away. "Thanks, Hoagie…"

I gave her my signature crooked smile and thought for a moment. I held out my arms to her, me probably needing a hug as much as Abby.

She smiled at me wider and quickly obliged to wrapping her arms around my neck, as my arms encased her waist. Her embrace was light, yet strong and she nuzzled her nose under my jaw. Sure we had hugged many times before, but this one felt different. I would even go as far as to say it was intimate. Abby pulled me closer, like she never wanted to let me go. … What? Was I out of my mind? No, there was no way she'd hug me like that, that's crazy!

Caught up in my own denial, I barely noticed when I felt liquid streaming down my neck. Oh God… Was she crying? No no no!

I hugged her as tight as I could, just wanting all this pain to end for her, I would have given my life if it meant she could be happy just then. No, not just then! Forever! Abby deserved to be happy forever. And I would've done anything for her to have that. She deserved to never cry again.

"Oh Abby, please, tell me what I can do… What happened to you…?" I asked pleadingly.

She pulled back so we could look each other in the face and she wiped her tears away with her palm. She wasn't hysterical or anything, just genuinely upset. But that was enough for my heart to fall to pieces.

"What…" she cleared her throat so she wouldn't squeak her words, "What if… you lost the one you loved most in the world?"

My mouth opened in a bit of shock to such a question. No words came out, but my eyes shifted around like the answer would be written somewhere. It took a minute to even get my head wrapped around the query. To be honest, I'd never really thought about it. I suppose I just found it impossible for Abby to ever d-… I didn't even want to say the word. Abby, gone…? No, that just wasn't… It wasn't even a possibility! Never! I… There was no way I could even begin to consider a life without her. It was because I would have no life without her there in it.

I shook my head erratically, "I… I-I don't even want to think about that…"

"It's hard ta think about…" Abby started, looking down in her hands. "But sometimes… It does happen when we don't think it will… And we don't think it's possible to lose the ones we love…"

Who was she talking about? Was it Nigel? Did she miss him after he left? I knew she liked Numbuh 1! Well that didn't make a lot of sense, why would she break down now over something that happened six years ago? Wait, what about Maurice, did he have something to do with this? Was he moving or something? Dying even? No no no, Maurice wouldn't be croaking, I was going crazy… This all had a logical, non-Maurice related explaination, I was sure…

"Maurice…"

…. Ah damn... I knew it… They were in love.

"Maurice's mom just died in a car crash, Hoagie…" Abby said with tears in her eyes, "He's moving to Washington to live with his aunt… That's such a long way from Cleveland…"

Wait, what? Maurice's mom died? That… That was just awful. Man, did I feel like a total d-bag then… Aw, that was too much. Gah, I was such a terrible person!

"Abby, I… I'm so sorry… I mean, that's just terrible, I feel so sorry for Maurice… Please, send him my sympathy… I-I'm so sorry…" I immediately pulled her into a hug, knowing very well she'd need it. She was losing her friend. Or was he more than a friend? The kiss, was it a friendly sympathetic kiss? 'Now is not the time, Hoagie…' I told myself.

She embraced me tightly, shaking a bit, but not crying. Scared maybe? Didn't matter, I was going to hold her until she no longer needed it, without question. I nestled my nose into her hair and inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of warm vanilla intoxicating her ebony locks. Was it possible to smell beautiful? If so, I was sure Abby would be the fairest of them all.

She slowly brushed her cheek against mine and sighed. This caught me by surprise and I wasn't sure what to make of it. "Abby's really gonna miss the boy…"She lay her hands in her lad and rested her forehead on my shoulder. "And this whole situation really got 'er thinkin'…"

I gulped, preparing for the worst: the greatest praise about Maurice. I rubbed her shoulders and closed my eyes, trying to envision what my life would be like without Abby. Loneliness. No fulfillment out of life, just me and my airplanes. I'd fly every day and have no one to come home to. No woman waiting for me, no beautiful wife to sleep next to, no kids to play with and tuck in at night, no wonderful children to fall off their bicycles and I have to bandage their knees… Without her, I knew I'd die alone. I couldn't bear the thought, tearing up some myself. Tomorrow came much sooner than expected.

"I can't live without you…"

We stared at each other with wide eyes for a long time, bewildered by the words we had said in unison. Did… Did Abby really…? But…

"A-A-Abby…" I stammered with my voice cracked. "I-I…"

I was cut off by plush lips embracing my own, and I let out a shocked, muffled yelp. Abby cupped my face in her hands and kissed me harder. My shoulders fell with my eye lids as my whole body slackened like jello, and I nonchalantly released highly pleased moans. I kissed her back, our tongues mingling in a unique tango, a dance that I never wanted to end. I was kissing Abigail Lincoln. And I was for the first time thankful for the cowardly lion that lived inside of me, because it brought me right here to this moment, making out with the damsel in distress who was always saving herself. And me.


A/N: Hey it's chapter 2! OMG that took FOREVER. But tell me. Was it worth it for the 2/5-ness? ;D R&R plz. KND is not mine, I don't own it. Damn. -Zimmy