A/N: Thanks again to Dionne Dance for both reviewing/editing this story and helping to inspire it!

Ch. 21

The next few days were busy. Angie had been getting ready for Christmas, doing her shopping and decorating, while Ichabod had been spending every spare moment studying for his finals. To an extent it was good that they had so much going on. It distracted everyone from the rift between Steve and Angie. Still, some reminders could not be avoided. For instance the fact that Steve had been staying out almost every night, and sleeping on the couch when he got back in.

December 2nd started out as a normal day for Angie. When she arrived at work, there was a note on her desk asking her to see the principal immediately. Worried that something was wrong, Angie walked cautiously into Mr. Harrison's office. She felt better, though, when she saw the look on his face. His eyes were twinkling, and he was smiling.

"Angie," he beamed, "I have the most exciting news to share with you."

"Yes?" Angie asked.

"I received an e-mail this morning from The New York State Education Department. Apparently some of your students submitted a proposal to the Learning Technology Grant Program. You have won Teacher of the Year for New York State!"

Angie's jaw dropped. In September during a class discussion, several students had complained about the obsolete technology on campus. Angie had encouraged them to take action and see if they could come up with plausible solutions. She never dreamed they would do something like this, though.

She felt tears welling in her eyes and smiled. With all of the tension at home, this was a welcome boost of self-esteem. Besides being a huge honor for her personally, the award granted ten new computers for the library! Angie could hear Mr. Harrison continuing to talk in the background; something about announcements at school assembly. She nodded numbly when he mentioned presenting her award at a reception in the library after the computers were installed.

Angie was so shocked that she forgot she was angry with Steven. As she walked back down the hall she called him to share the news. Steve was excited for her.

"Oh Ange," he said, "You so deserve this. Why don't you, me and Ichabod go out to Calandra's tonight to celebrate?"

Angie agreed, and Steve made arrangements to meet them at the restaurant at seven.

Angie spoke to Ichabod next.

"I'm not surprised at all" he told her. He was so proud that his confident constable voice came through over the phone. "It would be an unforgivable crime had they given the honor to someone else. Look at the fine job you've done educating me!"

Later that day, Angie received another message to come down to the office. On the front counter was a precious miniature Christmas tree decorated with tiny toys and cardinals. The card read "Congratulations! You'll always be a very special teacher to me." Angie sighed, wondering if Steve was finally trying to make things right.

00

After work, Angie was excited. Calandra's was an upscale Italian place, one of her favorites. She took her time getting ready, making sure her hair and makeup looked just right. She looked over her wardrobe, trying to decide what to wear. She had been giddy with happiness all day and wanted to carry that feeling of being special and appreciated on to dinner. And Steve seemed to be back to normal! A simple but elegant black dress caught her attention. It would be perfect. She grabbed a pair of strappy heels to go with it, and found some earrings and a necklace to complete the look.

It was hard for Ichabod not to stare at her as she walked down the stairs. Angie was naturally pretty, but he had only seen her in casual work clothes, or dressed down when doing housework. The feminine attire and excited sparkle in her eyes made her look downright sexy. Trying not to be awkward, Ichabod smiled at her and simply told her that she looked nice before following her out to the car.

00

At the University, Steve looked up from his work and saw that it was almost 7:00. He started to shut down his computer and flinched when a flash of red hair blocked his vision. Rachela slid onto his lap.

"Ready for dinner?" she purred in a low, sultry voice. She reached up to put her hands on his shoulders.

Steve looked a little uncomfortable. "I won't be able to have dinner with you tonight. I have to take care of something," he said, not looking her in the eye.

"Would that something be your wife"" asked Rachela with a sneer.

"Ah, come on babe, don't be like that. It's a family thing," Steve whined.

"When are you planning to tell her about us? You said you would take care of it at Halloween!" she snapped, as she jumped from his lap and paced angrily around his desk. "I'm beginning to think I mean nothing to you. Maybe I should call Angie for a little girl talk."

Steve stood up, an angry expression on his face. "You'll do no such thing. I may want to be with you now, but that doesn't mean I don't care for Angie. I just want to let her down easy."

"Men! You are all such cowards. Always wanting to have it both ways. Let me tell you, mister. It doesn't work that way!" Rachela said, leaning right into his face.

"Come on, Rachela, it's not like that," Steve told her firmly. "Angie just won a prestigious award. It's a big deal. Now is not the time. I promised to have dinner with her and Ichabod to celebrate."

"I don't understand you, Steve. It's almost like you enjoy sitting at home watching her fawn over that fainting, time traveling freak." Rachela turned her back on Steve and smirked, hoping to plant in his mind the thought that Angela might not be such a perfect angel. "You've got me now. I don't understand why you can't face facts and get on with your life."

Steve looked confused. He did not like what Rachela was insinuating. He felt guilty that Angie had remained the loyal, sweet, loving wife, even though he knew she had to suspect something was going on. He just didn't want to break her heart. Ichabod's arrival had been a blessing. His childlike vulnerability and urgent need to learn about modern life kept Angie occupied and off his back about working on their relationship.

Rachela had come on to him after enrolling in his class a year ago. They would meet up in his office or at a hotel occasionally for a hook up, but it had been nothing but sex, just a good time. Then, she had jumped at the opportunity to intern on Ichabod's project. The long hours had intensified their attraction, and now they never missed an opportunity to get together.

Steve had been flattered by the attention at first. He had begun to feel trapped in his marriage, and enjoyed his free spirited time with Rachela. Lately, however, she had started getting clingy and possessive. He assumed it had something to do with her hormones. Just two months ago, she'd announced to him that she was pregnant. Now Steve had even less time to leave Angie. At the same time, Rachela's actions made him wonder if he wanted a relationship with anyone anymore.

She really was getting scary. He even had to leave Thanksgiving dinner at the DeLorenzo's early because she texted him, threatening to come knock on the door and join them.

His thoughts then drifted to Ichabod. What would happen with him? His colleagues who had worked on the project last summer were fascinated by him and always asked for updates on his progress in this new world. He was almost positive Ichabod would stay with Angie if they broke up. Steve knew he would miss the extra attention that finding Ichabod had brought him in the physics world. What would his friends think?

"Cut the crap, Rachela. Tonight I'm going to be there to help Angie celebrate her award." He grabbed his jacket and headed out the door. "Not without me," Rachela growled, as she skittered dangerously on her high heels down the hall behind him.

00

Ichabod and Angie got to the restaurant at five to seven, and were seated at seven exactly. Then, they waited.

Seven fifteen came, and Steve still hadn't shown up.

"Maybe he's caught in traffic," Ichabod said, trying to make Angie feel better.

"Maybe," she replied. The two made small talk for another thirty minutes, before their waiter came over for the third time, asking if he could take their order.

"I guess he's not coming," Angie said, sadly. "Let's just order."

Steve showed up at 7:50. Once Angie had seen him walk through the door, all of her anger melted away. She was just happy that he'd managed to show up for her special night.

That happiness was replaced with hurt, though, when she saw the young woman walking in with him. She had long, dyed red hair, and like Angie, she was dressed in a black dress, though hers left little to the imagination. Steve led the woman over to their table, and pulled out a chair for her.

"Sorry I'm late," he addressed Angie. "This is Rachela, by the way. Rachela, this is Angie and Ichabod. Rachela's car broke down, and she stopped by my office just as I was leaving to ask for a ride home. I invited her to join us for dinner."

Ichabod instantly recognized Rachela as the woman who had been dressed as a witch at the costume party. Though she made him uncomfortable, he did his best to remain polite when she shook his hand. It wasn't just that Rachela reminded him of the witch of the Western Woods. Something about her body language was off. He sensed hostility towards Angie. And after she was seated, she had complained about a draft, and asked Steve to switch seats with her so she was in between him and Angie. Ichabod's detective instincts began to kick in. He didn't trust this woman.

"I know you!" she said, looking at Ichabod. "You're the one who fainted at the Halloween party!"

Ichabod blushed. "Yes, that was me."

"And you're a teacher, I suppose?" Angie cut in.

Rachela opened her mouth to speak, but Steve beat her to it.

"Rachela is one of my graduate interns. She helped us on Ichabod's project last summer and she's currently writing a thesis on the negative helicity of W bosons."

"O...kay," Angie replied, unsure of what that meant.

There was an awkward silence, only broken when the waiter bought Angie and Ichabod's food.

"We weren't sure if you were coming, so we ordered at 7:30," Angie explained.

"Oh, it's no problem." Under the table Rachela was tracing her index finger along the inner seams of Steve's trousers. He looked at her, and half smiled, and she looked back at him and did the same.

For the next twenty minutes, Steve and Rachela groped each other under the table while sipping their drinks. They seemed to be in their own little world, though Steve did try to make an effort to talk to Ichabod and Angie on occasion.

Still, it made Ichabod angry that Steve had brought Rachela to Angie's special night. He attempted to remind everyone of the reason for this occasion.

"So, Rachela" Ichabod started, "Have you heard that our Angie here has been honored as Teacher of the Year?"

Rachela rolled her eyes and looked at Angie with a smirk. "Well, it must be nice to win thatlittle popularity contest. What did you have to do to get your students to vote for you?"

In her mind, Angie was thinking 'well at LEAST I didn't have to sleep with any of them'. The normally meek Ichabod suddenly felt very protective. How could anyone be so rude to Angie?

He could feel his face flushing as his temper rose.

Trying to remain composed, Ichabod glared at Rachela for a minute before he could trust himself to speak calmly. "It wasn't a local popularity contest," he said, with a trace of indignity in his voice. "Angela was selected for recognition above all of the teachers in New York State. This award has allowed the school to totally refurbish the library's technology center. It will have a plaque honoring Angie's contributions!"

Rachela rolled her eyes again and huffed, "Yeah, I get it. Good job."

"That's fantastic, Angie. I know you deserve it," said Steve, looking at Angie warmly.

"I'm finished with my drink, Steve," Rachela said flatly looking bored.

Steve looked a little embarrassed and began making excuses to leave. "I have to give her a ride home," he explained, standing up. "I'll see you back at the house later. Congratulations again on that award you won."

Angie watched, stunned, as Steve helped Rachela into her coat, and walked out with her. She suddenly realized that the beautiful tree she had received at work was not from Steve. She turned to Ichabod and in a small, quiet voice said, "I loved the tree, and thanks for just being here. I'm glad someone thinks I'm special."

Then the pain returned once again. It took everything Angie had not to cry right then and there at the table. Seeing Angie hurt made Ichabod anxious. He started to feel hurt too. He didn't want her to be upset. She didn't deserve the way she was being treated. He leaned over and put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a hug. Angie paid the bill, and they drove home in silence.

00

That evening, as he lay in bed, Ichabod couldn't help but think of everything that had happened at dinner. Steve had always been good to him, but the way he had been treating Angie was cruel and disrespectful. It made him angry and resentful to an extent. The man had a kind, smart, beautiful wife, and he was throwing her away for a cheap piece of trash. Angie was worth so much more than that. She deserved better.

He drifted off to sleep that night, thinking of Angie. The way she accepted his anxious nature, took care of him when he fainted, and didn't make fun of him. He dreamed of sitting on the couch with his head on her shoulder after a nightmare, her arms wrapped around him. The scene shifted and became more sensual. She walked into his room wearing her black dress from earlier. She started taking it off, and pushed him back on the bed. She started stroking his hair, and rubbing his back and belly the way she had when he was sick.

Ichabod startled himself when he moaned with pleasure in his sleep and sprang up in the bed. What if Angie heard him? He started to get anxious and hoped he didn't talk in his sleep. Guilt invaded his mind. He should not dream that way about his married friend!

He could not settle down and go back to sleep. He was so frustrated that he started to panic, and then he looked down.

Oh…so that was the problem.

He was very aroused. Ichabod sighed and quietly took care of his problem, unable to stop thinking about the dream during the process.

It was only after he got up to shower that he began to analyze his feelings. Ichabod suddenly realized that when Angie was in his arms, he truly felt happy. He felt contempt make its way into his thoughts. What had he ever done to earn her respect? She saw him as a child, backward and superstitious because of his stories of horsemen and witches.

He froze while reaching for the soap, startled to recognize that since his arrival, he had allowed a part of his mind to become idle. Probably the shock of his journey, and waiting to return home. Home. The cold truth that this was now his world hit hard. How had he allowed himself to become totally dependent upon two strangers? Ichabod finished his shower and stepped out onto the rug. As he started to dry off, his mind snapped into action.

The most rational thing that he could do at this point was help Angie. Steve's behavior was unacceptable. As he pulled on his robe, he grabbed a journal from his desk and began to make notes. His detective skills were coming out of retirement. After transcribing his thoughts, he put the journal in his nightstand drawer and leaned back against the headboard, twirling a piece of wet hair around his finger. A full scale investigation would begin in the morning. He fell asleep wondering what was going on with Steve and Rachela.