A/N: Sorry took so long to update. I've been really busy. Here's the next chapter.

Okay, mental note on parenting. Never let a hospitalized child know that you are going to be taking them home unless you have discharge papers in your hand and are ready to walk out of the hospital with that child. Least you find yourself spending the night in a not so comfortable hospital bed.

After they had informed Macey that she would be coming home with them the following day, the little girl had become over excited at the realization that she was going to get to spend more time with them and wanted to start immediately. Which led to the emotional break down when they had tried to leave, because that's what it was, an emotional breakdown. Not a temper tantrum, not the strategic manipulations of a small child, but an emotional break down from a four year old that managed to break everyone's heart who had witnessed it.

"But I wanna go with you," Macey had replied, refusing to let go of Jenny's hand. "You said I could go with you this time."

Abby stooped down a little so she could get face to face with the trembling lip and currently reddening chubby cheeks of the little girl perched on the hospital bed. She knew where this was going after the first tear slid down Macey's face and she spoke a trembling, "No," when they announced it was time for them to go. Jenn's head had whipped in her direction pleading with Abby to do something because she honestly didn't want to witness the little cutie being so sad. She was already pulling at her heart strings and she hadn't even turned on the water works completely.

"No Mace, not this time," Abby corrected her. "We'll be back tomorrow and we can take you home then."

"But I wanna go with you," was her reply as she tucked Jen's hand against her chest, preparing to hold on for dear life. "Don't leave me."

Abby let out a sigh, "Macey," she honestly didn't know what to say. The child wouldn't understand the doctors wanting to observe her one more night after she held been held captive there for literally as long as she could remember. She could see how the idea of getting out of there could actually be too enticing for constructive reasoning to kick in for an adult, let alone a child.

"Don't you wanna stay with me for one more night?" Callie, the blond pony tailed nurse asked the girl as she began rubbing her back.

"Uhn uh," Macey shook her head, causing Callie to smile at the child's bluntness.

"Oh, but why Macey? I thought we had fun together. You don't want to stay and color with me. We can watch Frozen again?"

Macey looked at her before turning to Abby, rubbing at her eyes with her free hand. Abby gave her a reassuring smile, hoping it would work. "I," she started but it was only followed by a slew of tears and sobbing.

The three women's face fell at the child's breakdown. "Aww Mace, don't cry sweetie," Callie said. As one of the older nurses had heard the commotion from the hallway and came in asking what was going on. Abbie pulled the child in for a hug, as Callie explained to her colleague what was going on.

Macey took the opportunity to let go of Jenn's hand and wrap both of her arms around Abbie's neck, causing Abbie to instinctively pick her up, pressing the little body against hers as she embraced the child and began stroking her back soothingly as she softly pleaded with her not to cry, which didn't help much as the girl still believed that she was going to be left alone again at the hospital when all was said and done and that made her sad.

And this was how Ichabod had found them after he had come from talking to Mr. Davis, asking him more questions about his role in the guardianship. He had been informed that he had ninety days to make a decision to which Ichabod had informed him that that was rubbish and one could not make a decision on whether or not they wanted to take on such a huge responsibility in such a short amount of time. To which the lawyer had responded that Macey was fine in Abbie's care since she had already signed the papers and that he would work on getting everything finalized by then. If Ichabod had not made up his mind at the end of the ninety days he could always ask Abbie to be added back on as co-guardian later, although it would be entirely up to her if she allowed him to do so or not.

He had asked what had happened to cause the once elated child to change her demeanor so drastically so quickly. Jenny had told him what had happened.

"I'm going to spend the night here, Crane," Abby informed him. "She doesn't want to be left alone again, and I can't blame her."

"She's not alone," he informed Abbie as she sat on Macey's bed still stroking the child's back as the tears still came sporadically even though she had informed her that she would stay with her throughout the night and take her home the next day.

"I'm staying," Abbie told him, effectively ending the discussion. He had a way of being literal sometimes and didn't really know how to pull his punches when it came to some subjects in order to save someone's feelings. Like the way he talked about Hawley when Jenn was around. Though she had noticed that he had been getting better about catching himself, though that was usually due to the look she would give him as he opened his mouth to speak.

He gave her a curt nod before exiting.

He couldn't help but to eye the little girl as she slept. Her head resting next to Abbie's knee as she sat with her legs crossed in front of her. She was looking over some papers that had been given to her by the lawyer upon signing the papers to become Macey's legal guardian. He was trying to translate some papers he had brought with him to the hospital. After realizing that Abbie was not leaving the hospital without Macey and that they still had a lot of their Witnessing work to do, he decided to drop Jenny off at Hawley's and head back to the hospital to continue to work. Abbie was supposed to be helping him, but she wasn't. It didn't seem to be going to well for him either as he couldn't effectively take his attention away from the little girl. His eyes kept drifting back to her as he tried to gauge his future role in her life. He could play a supporting male roll or THE supporting male role. A role he had missed out on before with Jeremy. A roll that Captain Irving was supposed to fill but had passed on to him after his sacrifice for their cause. He was honored, but confused. He neither Abbie had ever raised a child before, so he did not understand why they were chosen.

"You know she's not going to grow a second head and eat you alive," Abbie said making his eyes snap from the sleeping child up to her face.

He just looked at her before glancing back at Macey, then turning back to the papers in front of him.

Abbie, was unable to work. She was too enthralled in the papers that had been left to her. Before Mr. Davis had left, he had given her a box with every legal document and other things she had needed for the girl. There had been a birth certificate, social security card, which honestly made her feel like she had just purchased a new car. She had also had some other papers which she would add to her 'grab in case of an emergency' box in the top of her closet at home. She had also received some other papers including a letter from Irving and Cynthia which she had just finished reading.

She needed to debrief after all the information she had taken in, so she interrupted him again.

"What are you thinking?" She knew he hadn't signed the papers, and knowing Ichabod, she knew that the decision was gnawing at him.

He huffed and looked at the papers before replying, "I'm thinking whoever wrote this was more twisted than I first imagined when I started reading."

"Nooo," Abbie corrected him, knowing he was deflecting. "What do you think about Macey?"

He looked up at Abbie before his eyes once again diverted to the sleeping child. "Well, I think she is very bright for her age," he started hesitantly, "Perceptive. Seems to be very fond of Ms. Jenny and you."

"And you," Abbie added. He continued.

"The slightest things seem to ruffle her emotions into disarray."

"She's four," Abbie reminded him.

"But she's a very a sweet child. Adorable, even," he paused before finishing. "I just don't know why Captain Irving and Mrs. Irving would trust us of all people with her."

Abbie gave him a look that said speak for yourself, though she was still a little hesitant, she just refused to give up now that she had committed.

"Well maybe this letter that they left us will help you to better understand," she told him as she handed the letter to him.

He took the letter from her hand and began reading it as she began clearing the bed of all the documents in preparation for going to sleep in the now cluttered bed.

He began reading

Dear Abbie and Ichabod,

If you are reading this letter than whatever this thing is that has been tormenting us has finally gotten the best of us. However one good thing that would come from this letter being in your hands would mean that our sweet little Macey has actually survived whatever this is that is happening. We were going to write this letter as an explanation but we think that we should first apologize. We know that you are in the beginning, or depending on when this letter reaches you the middle or hopefully the end of a long battle and that asking this of you is only adding to your burden. It's just that the only living relatives that we have that we would trust Macey to are Cynthia's grandparents and they are in no condition to care for her and provide her the life that she deserves. There are other people that we would trust with raising our little girl, you two included, but we felt that you would do the best job of protecting her since you are two of only a few people that know and understand that the world is in the midst of a battle to continue to exist. We feel that we are being selfish in more ways than one by asking you to do this and we would completely understand if you decline, though we hope that you would give it some thought before doing so. We have not listed them on the guardianship forms but if you do decide that caring for Macey would hinder your fight against the evil that plagues this world, then we ask that you deliver her and turn over guardianship rights to her godparents, Joseph and Sandra Langerhan in New York City. We have provided more of their information at the end of this letter. Again, we know this is selfish of us but we plead with you to accept guardianship of Macey as we know that she will be loved, cared for, and protected best with the two of you. She is the most treasured asset that we have and we hope that she can bring the love and happiness into your lives that she brought into ours.

With love,

Frank and Cynthia Irving

Ichabod let out a sigh of almost defeat. If he had had the heart to reject guardianship of the little girl, which he was beginning to think that he didn't, this letter sure would have made him give it a second thought. He did not feel the Irvings were being selfish, after all, they had both paid the ultimate sacrifice. Frank had given his life for their cause, and although he still wasn't sure of the specifics he was sure Cynthia had too. They had every right to request this of him and Abbie.

He let out another sigh before his eyes flickered back towards the bed where Abbie had settled Macey and herself under the covers. He watched as the little girl snuggled herself against Abbie. He watched still as Abbie responded by wrapping her arm around the child and rested her chin on top of her head, never opening her eyes and seeming to be dozing off.

He could do this. If Abbie could why couldn't he? If anything, both of them doing it together would probably prove to make it easier to navigate for the both of them. That was just the way things worked with them, most of the time. They fought sometimes and they got on each other's nerves a lot, but they never seemed to let it pull them far enough away from each other to allow it to permanently effect their friendship. If anything, it seemed to make their bond stronger. He wondered if this was a part of their faith, the reason why they were the two that were chosen to be witnesses. He would still never understand why they had to be born centuries apart but he had accepted that anyway. Plus, it would be nice to finally get the chance to be a father figure. Yes, it scared the hell out of him, but he had been mourning his chance with Jeremey so hard that he didn't think that he could willingly pass up on another opportunity, especially if that opportunity was with two people he had grown to care about deeply.

"No it's fine. I'll just crash at Hawley's."

Abbie couldn't help but to smile at Ichabod's reaction to her sister's comment. It was no secret that Ichabod thought Hawley, the typical modern day male, was lacking on integrity and moral conviction. And though she had seen him give Luke, Hawley, and any other guy that had approached her with anything less than 18th century etiquette a death glare, she also knew that he had grown fond of Jenny and was less than happy about her dealings with Hawley.

"Ms. Jenny," he tried, but Abbie interrupted him.

"Crane," she gave him a look that told him to say something nice or shut it.

He only nodded and decided to shut it.

"Oh, can we go to the park?" Macey asked from the back seat booster seat that allowed her to see out of the window.

They had just left the hospital and were on their way to Abbie's. Jenn and Hawley had gone by the Irvings's earlier to pick up some things for her, though most of her things had been destroyed or were covered in some type of ectoplasm. They had gone to the store to pick up a few more things for her, including the booster seat she was sitting in. Hawley had then dropped Jenn off at the hospital before heading off on another one of his adventures.

"Maybe another day Mace," Abbie told her, "We have to get home and get you settled."

"Okay," Macey said sounding a little dejected.

"Don't worry," Jenn said leaning over to her, "we'll go before the days over." The child only laughed as Jenny poked her softly in her tickle spot.

It wasn't long before they pulled up into Abbie's driveway. They all got out, Macey jumping from the backseat into Ichabod's arms as he opened the back door for her. He had initially been afraid that he would drop the girl when she first began launching herself at him without warning, but it now seemed to be developing into a reflex for him.

"What toys did you buy me?" Macey asked looking back at Jenny over Ichabod's shoulder as he carried her. All the toys at the hospital were partially broken or had been chewed on so she was happy to finally have some toys of her own that were fully functional, but not as happy as she was to finally get to go home with them.

"You'll just have to wait and see," Jenny teased her.

"Did you get me a doll?" Macey asked again.

Abbie smiled at the girl's enthusiasm. She just hoped that Jenny and Hawley hadn't gone overboard. They happened to do that every now and then, especially when they were together. She pulled out the key and unlocked the door, when she saw the clutter of her living room she stopped dead in her tracks and her mouth fell open.

"Oh," was Ichabod's response as he stepped inside of the house behind.

"Jenny!" Abbie said as she turned around searching for her litter sister.

"What?" Jenny asked stepping from behind Ichabod.

"What?" Abbie questioned back as it was something she didn't feel like she needed to explain. "You couldn't have put some of this stuff away. Her living room was full of toys and clothes, and what looked like fairy bed set, and other bed room decorations and necessities of every day life.

"Well, I was going to, but you called and told me that you were ready and that you needed the booster seat. I left from here and went straight to the hospital," Jenny explained to her. "Don't worry, the three of us can clear this place up in no time. Besides you expected me to do all this work by myself? That's your kid."

Abbie just looked at her. Her head snapped towards Macey as the girl gasped and started yelling for Ichabod to "Put me down! Put me down!"

He placed the girl down and as soon as her foot hit the floor she was running towards the corner on the far side of the room.

"Is this for me?" she asked grabbing a doll that seemed to have been dressed by someone with a very high sense of fashion including a pair of glasses Abbie was sure was meant for added style more than they were to indicate that the doll had a sight problem. The doll also had two very curly ponytails donned with two bows that matched the rest of her outfit perfectly.

"Yup?" Jenny smiled, happy that she had seemingly chosen the right doll.

Abbie quickly recognized the doll as a My American Girl Doll. She snapped her head back towards Jenny. "How much did that doll cost?"

Jenny furrowed her eyes at her before replying, "Relax, Hawley bought for her?" She pushed past Ichabod and Abbie as she picked up a few bags. "You better get moving if you want my help," she told them, "I have to be somewhere at seven."

"Thank you, I love it," Macey said still clutching her new doll as she skipped down the hall behind Jenny. "She's so pretty."

It was around five thirty when they finally finished clearing the living room and had somewhat put away most of the things in what was now the child's room. It was still a little messy but she could at least sleep in it.

"Abbie, Abbie," she heard the child coming down the hall before she saw her round the corner into the kitchen. "Can Jenny and I go to the park now? Pleaassee?"

Abbie smiled, knowing Jenny had put her up to the please part of it. She turned around from the counter where she was cutting up the vegetables for dinner. "Sure."

"Yaay! Thank you Abbie," the girl said running over and hugging her leg.

"Yaay! Thanks Abbs," Jenny said mimicking her actions as she too embraced Abbie.

"Let go of me," Abbie laughed, causing Jenny to laugh too. It had become clear to Abbie upon walking into her home to find that her living room had been turned into a department store stocked with everything a four year old girl would need or want, that Jenny was going to have too much fun with this. She couldn't blame her, she would have probably been the same way if she wasn't the one that was going to need to take on the actual responsibility of raising the child on top of everything else she was dealing with.

"Com'on Jenny," Macey said grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the door.

"Wait a second," Abbie said causing the girl to stop. "You need your jacket,"she grabbed the lilac jacket off of the chair and opened it up for the girl allowing the child to place her arms through the wholes. She then bent down to zip up the jacket and informed them that they had to be back before sundown, to which Jenny replied "Aw Abbie, that only gives us like thirty minutes."

"Com'on let's go," Macey said pulling Jenny's arm again after finding out they had limited time to play. "Bye Ichabod."

"Make sure she brings the doll back Jenn," Abbie called behind them as they ran out of the door. It was clear from the fact that the girl hadn't put the doll down since she picked it up that there would be tears if she were to lose it.

Abbie sighed before going back to the counter to finish preparing dinner. Something she was sure she would have to do more often now that she had Macey.

"Motherhood suits you well Leftenant," came his voice from where he sat at the table.

She turned towards him slightly, studying him. He had been quiet most of the evening, too quiet. He hadn't asked any questions about the computer he was currently doing research on even though she saw him struggling with it from time to time. He hadn't made any of his pitiful attempts at trashing talking which he randomly did while using the computer or expressed any disdain for 21st century culture and technology.

"Thanks Crane," she told him turning back to the cutting board. "But I like to think of it as guardian-hood. I don't think I've ascended to what could be called motherhood just yet."

"Well whatever it is you prefer to call it," he told her. "You are good with her."

He grew quiet again. "What's up with you?" Abbie asked breaking the silence. "You haven't been saying much all day. I'm usually begging you to shut up by now."

He smiled at the playful jab. "I have just been thinking," he told her.

"About?" she questioned, wanting him to continue.

"Ms. Macey, the letter her parents left for us," he told her. "Rather or not I should sign those papers that Mr. Davis has."

"Well what do you think you should do?" Abbie asked him.

"I don't know," he told her. "Why did you sign the papers?"

"Because," she told him. "I didn't want to see that little girl go through things that I went through. And if I can prevent that I will. Plus she's really adorable. And somewhere down the line I've become obsessed with taking on more responsibility, though I'm pretty sure Jenny would say I'm just bossy."

"I'm afraid I would have to agree with her," he replied without missing a beat. She laughed.

"Yeah, well you should be happy about that, or else your ass would be homeless and hungry right now."

"Touche." He grew quiet again. "What are you thinking?" she asked him, seeing him staring at the computer screen again.

"I'm thinking that I want to buy her a better gift than that loathsome toad Hawley," he said causing Abbie to fall into a fit of giggles. She had seen the way Ichabod had eyed the doll when Macey had run up to him holding out the doll telling him to look at the doll Hawley had bought her and that Jenny was going to let her call him to say thank you. "Is that absurd?" he asked her for validation.

"No," she told him. "It's completely normal. After all you've been the only man in her life for the past couple of weeks, or ever as far as she's concerned. She's grown very attached to you and you to her. It's only natural to not want to share her affection with another guy. It's why all fathers hate every last one of their teenage daughters' boyfriends. They haven't figured out how to share their little girl with another guy. I say that your jealousy means you're half way there. Just stop calling her Ms. Macey, it's going to make her feel weird when she realizes all the other kids aren't addressed so formally."

"I am overjoyed to hear that," he told her. "Because I called Mr. Davis earlier today. He's coming by tomorrow for me to sign the papers."

A/N: Sorry the stories moving a little slow but should pick up soon hopefully. Just trying to set some ground work. Again reviews are welcomed. Also suggestions on anything you want to see in the story.