Hero

A/N: Guys, I got three reviews! You really don't know how excited I am about them, really. Reviews make my day. Thank you guys so much for taking the time to give me feedback on my story.

So, I decided that this story will be longer than I was intending… So this chapter doesn't go where you will expect it to. But, that's what I kind of wanted, anyway. I didn't want anything to happen to fast. I'm having fun with this experiment, and I'm pretty sure I know where I want to take it.

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my three reviewers: Rachel Mantegna, Ellasphere and Serenity rose. Thanks, guys!

And this is considerably longer than the last chapter…

Disclaimer: Still not mine. I'm just playing with them.

Hey, open wide, here comes original sin…

Hey, open wide, here comes original sin….

Hey, open wide, here comes original sin….

Regina Spektor, Hero

As he drove home, Ben could not shake the feeling that something was wrong. Though, he was quick to blame it on overall uneasiness. He wanted nothing more than to protect the people he cared about at all times. And, therefore, leaving Abigail alone at home with Ian on the loose was something he didn't want to do.

Some Jack Johnson song was fluttering from the low radio of his silver SUV, but Ben couldn't hear a strum of the relaxing acoustic. All he could hear was the pounding of his heart in his ears, and the thunder of his pulse resonating through his skull. His nervousness was overtaking him.

He was sure his fingers were clutching with white-knuckled fury at the steering wheel, and that his foot was pressing too heavily on the gas pedal. But, he was so distracted that he wasn't quite sure.

Truthfully, he wasn't certain that Ian would actually go after them. But, what else would he do? From previous experience, Ben knew that Ian was a grudge-oriented man, who was always concerned with getting even. Ben knew he would be blamed for Ian's terrible choices, and his stay in the iron pen. Which, perhaps, in a way, he should be. Still, Ben didn't want him to use the people he cared about to get to him, which Ben had a feeling he would. Ian always liked to hold all the cards.

After what seemed like forever, Ben finally pulled up to the gate, quickly opening it and heading up his driveway. Nothing seemed amiss; the grounds were quiet and peaceful.

Of course, Ben was not aware of the pair of eyes watching him from behind a tree, studying him intensely as he stepped from his SUV and went to the door.

When he opened the door, the security was still on, which was a good sign. His fingers quickly punched four numbers, 1776, before stepping inside.

The figure behind the tree saw this, and he memorized this.

"Abigail!" He called out, "I'm home!"

"I'm in the dining room!" She called out. He was more than relieved to hear her voice, safe and sound.

"Hey, I'm glad you're, o—"

His voice trailed off as he rounded the corner, to step inside the dining room. There was his girlfriend, sitting cross-legged upon the table. She was wearing a deep purple, barley-there, silk nightgown, and her hair was tousled around her face. Her lips were drawn up in a sexy smirk.

"I missed you," She told him.

He gave a deep chuckle. "I can see that…"

Abigail slid off the table, sauntering over to him, standing with their bodies only an inch apart.

"And, I thought you might need something to take your mind off of Ian…" She told him honestly, raising her chin to meet his eyes.

"Ian who?" Ben brushed off the mention of the convict, dipping his head to capture Abigail's lips with his own. As the kiss deepened, her arms entwined around his neck and she pressed herself flush against him. Ben could feel his sense going wild as her curves melded to his body. His hands went to her waist, holding her tight against him.

Soon enough, he had lifted her into his arms, and had carried her clumsily up the stairs to their bedroom. Their passage wasn't graceful, they were running into walls and Ben was fumbling over his own two feet. But his lips were on her neck, and she was laughing, punctuating the laughter with a few well-placed moans. Abigail could not have cared less about the bruises forming on her back as Ben knocked her against the wall, shaking the frames.

She flopped back onto the bed, and Ben climbed up to hover over her. She was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen, laying beneath his with a smile across her face, her blonde hair spilled out across the bed. He could hardly resist her.

And luckily for him, he didn't have to. They made love for as long as they possibly could, before they both were sweating, exhausted masses.

Ben rolled off of her, his heart beating wildly. Now, his pulse fluttered through his whole body, instead of simply in his head. He could hear Abigail's breathing pierce the quiet air, echoing his.

He reached for her, pulling her against him, so that her head was laying on his chest, and she draped an arm across him.

"I love you, Ben," She murmured. He loved hearing that from her, as he knew just how hard it had been for her to say those words the first time.

"I love you, too, Abigail," He told her, with confidence. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, but, by her even breathing, he could tell she was already asleep. And he soon followed her, into a blissful dream.

The couple slept easily, unaware of those prying eyes watching everything through the open curtains.

xxxxx

Two weeks had passed since that Saturday morning the three of them had spent sitting in front of the television, staring dumbfounded at the news. For both Abigail and Riley, the shock and scare of the situation had subsided.

Riley had essentially all but forgotten that Ian was running around on the loose. As he had told Ben:

"Come on, Ben, if Ian was going to do something, he would have done it by now, you know… I mean, he's probably hiding out somewhere in Canada by now, where he could be safe."

And the logic did make sense, enough sense so that Riley could give himself excuse to move on. He was a nervous kid, but easily distracted.

And Abigail was simply business oriented, and Ian's return did not fit into her incredible "master schedule", as Ben liked to call it. She didn't have any time to fret over it, it simply was not practical. She even managed to discourage Ben from talking about it when they were home together.

"Don't bring up that Ian nonsense again, Ben," Was a terse statement Ben heard from his girlfriend quite often.

But he could not shake the worry. Ben couldn't explain it: it was simply a hunch. Similar to the way he had just known the treasure was real: he knew Ian wanted revenge. At the wish of his friends, he kept quiet. But he couldn't get rid of the nervous pulse pounding in his head.

Aside from his job teaching at the university, he hardly left the house. Ben insisted to Abigail that they needed to remain inside as much as possible: It was safer there.

On a Saturday night, exactly two weeks after the news broadcast, she had enough.

"Ben! We can't just stay holed up in the house! It's ridiculous!"

"Please stop shouting…" Ben gritted his teeth, "You know I only suggest it for our safety… I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you, Abigail."

"Nothing's going to happen. You have to stop worrying about Ian, it's driving me crazy…" At least she wasn't yelling at him any more.

"I'm sorry, I can't help it," He told her, honestly, "We can't take the risk, he's dangerous."

There was a silent moment as Abigail glanced at her fingers, as if they were incredibly interesting. She didn't even look away from the slender appendages as she spoke.

"I called your parents."

"What?" No answer, clearly she did not want to repeat herself, "Why?"

"I told them we'd go to dinner with them."

"Abigail!"

"No, we're going. So get your coat. Everything will be okay. We'll have fun…"

She walked over to where he sat on the couch, and tilted his head up, so that he was looking at her. He could see that this was very important to her, and he felt his resolve slipping. Perhaps they would be okay…

"So?" She asked, with a small smile.

And, his resolve was gone.

"Alright, let's go,"

As she had promised, they did have fun. The four of them spent the meal analyzing different aspects of American history, from Andrew Jackson's presidency, to the impact Robert F. Kennedy would have made were he not assassinated. It was great for Ben to see his parents again, after about a month without doing so. They seemed to be getting along well, seeing as they were back together. They were still in their honeymoon stages… They spent hours in the restaurant, until they began to close up and had to kick them out.

When they stepped out of the bistro, it was pouring rain. Patrick and Emily had parked on the curb, so Ben and Abigail said their good-byes to them under the awning before they dashed to their car.

Their movements were so lithe and quick, rejuvenated by being around each other. Like two little kids in love. Ben noticed a smile on Abigail's face as the sight of it.

"I'll go get the car, just wait here." He promised her, giving her a small kiss on the cheek. After all of the fun, the nervous pounding in his ears was gone. Abigail had been right again, it seemed.

Rather happily, he dashed through the rain, leaving his impeccably dressed girlfriend to wait for him under the awning. She really did look fantastic in that deep purple dress…

He finally made it to the parking garage, and found their SUV. He flipped on the radio, pulling around to the front of the restaurant… But something was wrong… If Ben had paid more attention to the sunken-eyed man sitting in the back of the restaurant, perhaps he would have known…

But, he hadn't. Though, a quick glance to the restaurant's patio solidified his worst fears.

Abigail was gone.