We have reached the end of The Wolf and the Headless Horseman. I want to thank everyone who read and reviewed, it's such a pleasure to write for you!


Pay Back and Goodbye

The next morning, the Witnesses appeared at the Carter/Reese residence, known as "the Bunker" for its high security measures, for brunch.

Abbie and Ichabod seated themselves at the kitchen island while Joss and John prepared the meal. Abbie and Joss chatted amiably about various topics of interest to women of color in law enforcement, while Abbie bounced Cali on her knee. Ichabod simply sat quietly and watched the Wolves cook.

Truthfully, the relationship between the two Alphas had been of great interest to him since he had first met them. The trust and intimacy between them seemed so effortless that the Witness was truly amazed. John and Joss moved easily around each other as they completed their different tasks. They seemed aware of each other's every movement and their Mating Bond allowed them to communicate on a level that Ichabod couldn't even begin to comprehend.

This bothered Ichabod because he knew that he and his wife had never even come close to achieving such an understanding of each other. Admittedly, he and Katrina had been married for only a short while before he had died in battle. But given all of Katrina's lies of omission and her insistence on staying with Abraham, even if it was for the greater good, Ichabod despaired of ever being able to trust and rely on her the way the Wolves trusted and relied on each other. He yearned for more from his marriage.

However, Ichabod did know someone he could trust and rely on. He snuck a look at Abbie as she sat next to him, remembering how good it felt to hold her in his arms after she had been attacked by the Hell Hound last time they had teamed with the Wolves. She had fit against him perfectly, like she belonged there...

Not liking the turn his thoughts had taken, he firmly pushed them out of his head. Or he at least tried to push those thoughts out of his head, but they wouldn't go. He kept thinking of how Abbie had put her arms around his neck and put her head on his shoulder.

Cali looked over at Ichabod from her perch in Abbie's lap and caught Ichabod sneaking glances at Abbie. Cali stared for minute as if she was sizing up the patriot and then raised her arms to him, asking him to take her. Ichabod raised an eyebrow at the child, but she only continued to hold out her arms to him and made a very unladylike a grunt of impatience. Ichabod rolled his eyes and then uncomfortably took the child into his lap. She giggled and began playing with his long hair.

Joss paused in slicing up the fruit salad and smirked at him. "She likes you. She normally doesn't like strangers." Ichabod managed a weak smile in response. He was not used to children and he would have been more comfortable taking on Moloch with only a pocket knife than he was holding the little girl.

He was feeling very put upon until he looked over at his co-Witness and found her leaning on her arm against the counter as she watched him hold the baby, a soft smile on her face. Ichabod shifted in his seat and then smiled back at her, wondering why the sight of him with a baby in his arms would make her look at him like that.

He bounced Cali on his knee like he had seen Abbie do with the baby earlier. The baby giggled happily and everything was going much better than Ichabod had a right to hope for, given his inexperience with babies. Then Cali went and ruined it by sneezing. Well it wasn't the sneeze so much as the fact that she changed into a Wolf cub when she sneezed. Ichabod was so surprised he nearly dropped her.

Joss and John looked up at Cali's yip. Joss grinned at the sight of Ichabod Crane in his 1776 garb holding a black Wolf puppy wearing a diaper and a lacy dress on his lap with a rather horrified expression on his face.

Ichabod swallowed hard. "Does Young Miss Reese do this often?" he asked weakly.

John kept his face an unreadable mask. "Every time she sneezes," he deadpanned.

Ichabod looked even more horrified. "Does she ever, um, get stuck?"

John shrugged. "She'll sneeze again and change back, or change back when she takes a nap."

As if on cue, Cali sneezed again, returning to human form. She looked up at Crane and giggled as if she had pulled one over on the patriot. Crane gave her a little half smile and she giggled again, and then she sneezed back to a Wolf, causing Crane to jump. Crane heard Abbie snort with laughter and his heart sank as he realized he was not impressing his co-Witness with his skills at babysitting. He was saved from further humiliation by the arrival of breakfast; he never thought he would be so grateful for pancakes

After breakfast had been eaten and the dishes cleaned up, Joss and Abbie left the apartment for some shopping. Abbie didn't often get a chance to shop in New York and she refused to leave the city unless she had at least one new pair of shoes. John and Ichabod both wisely decided to remain at the Bunker and let the ladies have their girl time.

John settled Cali in her fenced off play area in the living room that was covered with toys. Cali happily settled down with some electronic toy that lit up and made loud obnoxious sounds. John shrugged, "Gift from Finch."

Crane nodded sagely. He could see the computer genius gifting the child with such a fiendish device.

"Coffee?" John asked.

"That would nice, thank you," Crane said formally.

John went to into the kitchen and returned with two coffee mugs, handing one to Crane. Crane took a sip as John looked at him expectantly. John cocked his head to one side as he regarded the patriot, aware there was something troubling his companion.

"Do you want to talk about something?" John asked quietly as he settled down in his favorite chair.

Crane sighed as he sat down on the couch opposite John. "I do have a question I would like to ask you, Mr. Reese, but I am unsure as to how to best broach the topic."

John smirked. "Call me John. I think you should just ask me."

Crane shifted in his seat. "I find myself in need of advice, Mr. R-John. You have cultivated the most extraordinary relationship with Detective Carter… and it find myself at a crossroads in my relationship with my own wife."

John blinked in surprise. While he did indeed have an "extraordinary relationship" with his mate, it was a fairly unconventional one. He never thought they would be the yardstick by which others would measure their own relationships, but John wisely kept silent. He could see that Crane was struggling with something, and John would like to help him if he could.

"Have you ever been in a position where you didn't trust your mate?" Crane asked.

John looked over at Crane in surprise. "No," he said honestly. "I've always trusted her, from the first moment I met her, even when I was under arrest."

"Has the Detective ever lied to you? Say, a lie of omission?" Crane asked carefully.

Joss gave the Witness a weak little smile. "Once, before we mated. She saved someone I thought she shouldn't have bothered with, and she didn't tell me about it. But I was being a jerk at the time, so I didn't blame her for not being honest with me."

"What would you do if your mate lied to you?"

"Joss doesn't lie," John stated firmly.

Crane took another long pull from his coffee. "My wife neglected to mention that she was a witch when we married. She didn't tell me I was destined to be Witness, or that we had a child. She also covered up her part in my childhood friend's death, even though she swears it was a tragic accident." Crane stopped and took a deep breath. "I love her, but…" his voice trailed off and John could see the pain and uncertainty in his eyes.

John put his coffee cup down and looked the Witness straight in the eye. "I know what it's like to spend years sharing a bed with someone I didn't trust, I don't recommend it. Find someone you can trust and hang onto them. Stick with the person who has your back no matter what."

Crane could see in John's eyes that he was speaking from harsh experience and he humbly bowed his head in the direction of the Alpha. "Thank you, John for your sage advice. I have found this conversation most enlightening."


While Ichabod and John where having their talk, Joss and Abbie were browsing through Joss's favorite shoe shop.

"So It looked like you and Ichabod were having 'moment' last night..." Joss started to say but Abbie cut her off.

"He's married so there was no moment," Abbie snapped.

Joss didn't say anything, she simply looked over at her friend with one perfectly shaped arched. Abbie's eyes flitted to Joss's face nervously and then away.

"Sorry Joss. I'm...just not ready to talk about it yet."

Joss nodded, not wanting to cause her friend any distress. "I'll be ready to talk when you are, Just call."

"Thanks. Someday I'll take you up on that offer," Abbie said.

Joss smiled, "You know where to find me."


That same morning saw Fusco pounding on a door in a shabby apartment building in a downscale area of Brooklyn. Officer Kowalski opened the door, blinking in the bright sunlight. "Fusco? What the hell?"

Fusco handed the sleepy cop a folded up piece of paper that he recognized as a warrant. "Read it and weep, scuzzball. We're here for you and your computer."

The officer paled. "My computer?" he repeated weakly.

Fusco gave the man a predatory smile. "Yeah, your computer. You know, the place where you keep the nudie pics of the 16 year old girls?"

Kowalski groaned and rested his forehead again the door jamb. "How?"

Fusco brushed by the officer. "Everything you do online leaves a trace. Not hard to follow if you know where to look. I know someone who knows where to look."

Kowalski glared at Fusco as he bagged and tagged his laptop. "I thought you were Homicide?"

Fusco gave the man an angelic smile as the uniformed officers he had brought with him rummaged through the apartment looking for more equipment, DVDs, or flash drives with possible evidence. "Yeah mostly, but today I'm doing a favor for friend. Not that I mind spending some time taking a perv like you off the street."

Kowalski snarled at Fusco as he was cuffed and hauled down the stairs to the patrol car.

Fusco emerged from the apartment building several minutes later and spotted Shaw leaning against the Lincoln across the street munching on a breakfast burrito. He crossed the street and leaned up against the car next to her. Wordlessly she handed him a bag with another burrito. He nodded his thanks and began to eat. They stood like that for several minutes as they ate their breakfast in quiet compatibility.

Shaw finished first and fished a flash drive out of her pocket. She handed it to Fusco who stuck it in his pocket. "That everything?" he asked taking his next-to-last bite.

Shaw nodded as she sipped a coffee. "Finch says there's enough there to make sure he doesn't see daylight for 20 years."

"Good," Fusco snapped. "To think that perv had his hands on Taylor." He shuddered.

Shaw's eyes glittered with malice. "Shoulda let me deal with him. I wouldn't even have left a body for you and Joss to deal with."

Fusco grunted as devoured the last of his breakfast. "If the trial goes south, I'll take you up on that. But I always try to do it Joss's way first. That way I don't get my ass chewed."

Shaw made a face. "You got plenty of ass to chew anyway. Joss's way is no fun. "

Fusco shook his head. "You can take that up with Alpha."

"No thanks, I like my appendages where they are."

"Smart," Fusco commented as he pitched the garbage into a nearby waste bin. "I'm going to book the Polish Pervert, and then Lee and I are going to go to the movies. You wanna come? Lee hasn't seen you in a month and he's asking about you."

Shaw checked her watch. "If no number comes up between now and then, sure."

"See you at three then."

"Later."

Fusco walked across the street, got in his car, and drove away. Shaw watched him drive off with a smile and then pulled out anther burrito and started eating.


A few days later, a small group of people looked on as an oak coffin with silver fittings was slowly lowered into the ground. Reverend Jeremy Schmidt** closed his Bible and watched sadly as the casket was carefully placed in the grave. Each of the few mourners filed by the open grave and tossed some dirt onto the coffin below.

Schmidt lay a gentle hand on the shoulder of a grieving Felipe Valdez as he watched the sad scene. Felipe, clad in a clean, but slightly too big suit, shifted uncomfortably and gave the pastor a fleeting glance before lowering his eyes again.

"He was a good man," Schmidt murmured. Felipe wiped a tear and nodded.

John and Joss approached the grieving pair. "I'm sorry about Roy."

"Thank you, John," Felipe said softly, his voice choked with tears.

"How are you feeling?" Joss asked with concern. Neither she or John mentioned that Felipe was speaking English now. That was a good sign.

Felipe shrugged. "The meds are working. I just wish Roy was here to see it. He was always trying to get me take them."

Finch joined the little group. "Felipe, this is my employer Harold Crane," John introduced him. "He's the one responsible for today."

Felipe shook Finch's hand vigorously. "Thank you! Thank you! I'm so glad Roy didn't wind up in a pauper's grave on Hart Island. He deserved better. He saved my life."

Finch gave Felipe a small smile. "I agree, Mr. Valdez. Mr. Travers was very brave. This was the least I could to do to honor his sacrifice."

John checked his watch. "We should get you to the train station soon, don't want to keep your sister in Baltimore waiting."

Felipe shuffled his feet and looked at Reverend Schmidt. "Are you sure about this? It's been so long since I saw my family..." his voice trailed off and he looked down again.

The pastor smiled softly and patted Felipe on the arm. "You sister was most anxious to see you again. She was afraid you were dead. I can't promise you an easy road, my son, but I think she is willing to walk it with you."

Felipe nodded and took a deep breath as he gathered his courage. "Let's go then."


When they arrived at the train station, John quickly found a parking space. They retrieved the duffel bag with Felipe's few meager belongings from the trunk and slowly walked to the platform, just in time for the train to pull into into the station.

Felipe shook John's hand. "Thanks for everything, John."

"Have a good life, Felipe. Roy would have wanted it that way."

John watched as Felipe climbed aboard the train. He watched as the train the slowly began to inch it's way out of the station, and he continued to watch until the train was out of sight down the tracks. To the casual observer, John's face was blank, but if they had looked closer, they would have seen a trace of hope in his eyes.

As John turned to make his way back to the car, his ear piece chirped. With small smile he answered the call, "Yes, Finch?"

"Is Mr. Valdez on his way home?" The familiar voice of his friend and employer asked.

"The train just left." John couldn't help but smile a little wider, he knew what Finch was going to say next.

"Good, because we have new number."

John unlocked the car and slid into the driver's seat with his usual grace. "I'll be there in 20 minutes," he said as he started the car and pulled into traffic.


**We met Rev. Schmidt in my previous story No Wolves Allowed. He is the man who runs the soup kitchen where John would occasionally get a hot meal during his homeless days.