Many, many thanks to Dionne Dance for all of her help with this.
Ch. 2
Ichabod found himself walking purposefully through the woods. It was bitterly cold. His muscles ached from exertion. He could tell from the adrenalin buzzing through his system that he was stressed and terrified. He jolted as he heard footsteps rushing towards him.
"Sir, what happened in the cave? Please, wait up!" It was Young Masbeth. Young Masbeth? What happened to the future, New York, his Angie? He slowed down to allow the boy to catch up while he gathered his thoughts.
"Sir, what is that?" Masbeth was pointing at a tree directly in front of Ichabod.
Ichabod watched in fascination as the beautiful blue light seemed to grow from a hollow in the tree. He was drawn to it, but knew it was dangerous.
"Stand back, Masbeth! I will investigate." Ichabod cautiously leaned towards the tree. It was as if he were magnetically being drawn into the light.
"Ichabod…." A soft voice called.
"Katrina? Is that you? Show yourself! Please Katrina, where are you?"
Ichabod could feel gentle fingers stroking through his hair as the sad, haunting voice of Katrina caressed his ears.
"I cannot cure the world, my love." Katrina's voice began to fade as the blue light swirled and surrounded Ichabod. "I will have to settle for making you live happy in it."
A great roaring wind seemed to form in the light, and Ichabod screamed as he felt an invisible force sucking him in. He landed with a thump on a hard surface.
"I must be back on Angie's front porch," he thought. "At least I hope that's where I am. Please don't tell me I'm in a new place.
He opened his eyes to see Angie leaning over him, stroking his hair and looking worried. His back was killing him.
"You ok? You were having a nightmare. I had trouble waking you."
"Angie? It's so cold out here. Can we go back to bed now? This porch is hurting my back," he replied, softly.
Angie snorted at him. "That must have been some dream. We aren't on a porch. We're in our new apartment, remember? Yes, it is a bit cold. We don't have any furniture. That's why we are sleeping on the floor."
Angie smiled as she watched his mind return to the present. Ichabod looked very much like a lost child. He was irresistible in this vulnerable state between dreams and reality. Her groggy mind allowed her to lean down and give him a chaste kiss.
"Come on, old man. Roll over and spoon up to my back. Surely my bodacious backside can keep your ancient bones warm for a few more hours until it's time for breakfast."
Ichabod froze at the mention of her 'bodacious backside'. He wanted to grab her with both arms and pull her to him as tightly as possible. But he was very afraid. What if she only meant for him to have the minimum contact possible to gain warmth? He didn't want to offend her somehow, by touching her too much or in some unwanted way.
Angie grew impatient with his hesitation. "Fine," she huffed. She rolled Ichabod over and pulled him close, snuggling her face into his back. She immediately drifted back to sleep, her soft snores echoing in the empty room.
Ichabod enjoyed the feeling of her warm breath on his back. Thank God he was still here with Angie. The dream was very disturbing. It reminded him how stark and physical life had been in the past. But it was also reassuring. They may be in an empty apartment, but they had heat, lights, hot water, a place to rest and relax away from the world. He had definitely been in harsher situations.
He wondered what had happened in Sleepy Hollow after he left. Did Young Masbeth survive? Did he follow Ichabod into the blue light, but perhaps end up in a different time? Or did he stay, and solve the mystery by himself. He also found himself thinking of Katrina. Back then he had thought he was falling in love with her. Now, she seemed like a distant acquaintance in a dream.
Had he really heard Katrina's voice from within the light that day, or was that just his dream? Had she been in the trees beyond the light? Was she really in the light, possibly in another time herself? What did her words mean?
Ichabod rolled his eyes. What was he thinking? It was just a dream. At least he hadn't dreamed of the iron maiden behind the red door again.
Ichabod's eyes began to grow heavy. Without thinking, he rolled over to get comfortable and pulled Angie onto his shoulder. The two slept blissfully into the next afternoon.
00
Light poured in through the windows, hitting Angie in the face. Her eyes slowly drifted open. How late had she slept? Based on the sunlight, it had to be past noon. Her stiff muscles were begging her to get up and stretch. But she chose not to move.
She felt at peace for the first time since walking out, and she wanted to savor the feeling. She basked in the quiet atmosphere of the 10th floor and felt free. Free of deceit, stress, and criticism. She even felt a flicker of hope!
"I'm a good person" she thought. "Even if it wasn't meant to be, I gave it my best." Being in her own apartment was deeply satisfying.
She smirked as she remembered Ichabod charming Carla into letting them have this place a week early. What would she do without him?
Angie closed her eyes and sighed. She was glad Enzo was probably going to be moving back to New York. He was the one family member who had never criticized her choice to marry Steve. She was no fool. She knew his many surprise visits over the years had been a subtle way of keeping an eye on her, nudging Steve back into line if he noticed something amiss. She grinned. Subtle. Who would ever use that word to describe Enzo?
Angie was pulled from her thoughts by the sensation of Ichabod nuzzling her neck in his sleep.
She wondered who Ichabod was dreaming of now. He had been calling for Katrina earlier. He had sounded so confident, so authoritative in the dream. The yearning in his voice as he pleaded with Katrina was obvious. What had Sleepy Hollow done to him?
She couldn't help but feel a bit jealous, even though she knew it was ridiculous. Really? Jealous? Of a woman he couldn't possibly ever see again, who had been dead for at least 200 years…..but still. She wanted someone to feel such passion for her.
Angie was curious. She wished Ichabod would share more with her about his past, but understood his hesitance. She and Steve had most likely insulted his intelligence when he first arrived, but who could be expected to believe such unlikely stories!
Knowing Ichabod, he was telling the truth. It must seem ridiculous to him that they were perfectly willing to believe that he had traveled from the past within a blue light, but rolled their eyes when he talked about the witches and horseman. To him, all three should have been equally impossible.
She grinned to herself. He had probably insulted the villagers himself when he first arrived. With his rational, scientific method of sorting through any problem, he would have been as adamant in his disbelief as she and Steve were to him. What could have changed his mind?
But still…..Angie shuddered at the thought of any part of those stories being true. She didn't want to think about such things. She was just glad he showed up, and she was certain he was from the past.
Ichabod drew her attention again, as he hit a really nice spot on her neck. Why couldn't he be like this with her when he was awake?
Angie decided it was time for Ichabod to forget about Katrina and Jane. It was time for him to investigate the legend of the Italian libido! She swiftly slid down and returned his kisses, pulling gently on the skin of his neck. She wondered how he would react when he woke up. Whoa! He gripped her possessively and started gasping for breath.
Angie decided to go for broke. She took his face in her hands and captured his lips in a passionate kiss. He responded, biting her lip and gently tasting her as he rolled her over.
"Mmmmm."
Angie felt butterflies fluttering in her belly as he groaned into the kiss. She was almost totally lost in the sensation. What was that? Did he just squeeze her ass? Was he awake or not?
Ichabod's eyes flew open as they heard a loud knock on the door. "Angela!" he gasped, trying to catch his breath.
Angie saw the scared, hungry expression in his eyes and gave him a slow smile.
"That was nice."
The insistent knocking came again. "Hey Ange, It's me, open up!" Enzo's booming voice echoed through the apartment.
Ichabod skittered to his feet, having a minor convulsion as he scattered blankets and pillows in his wake.
"Shower" he squeaked.
Angie laughed and shook her head as she went to see what Enzo needed.