Disclaimer: I do not own Sleepy Hollow. The film Sleepy Hollow was made by Tim Burton who adapted it from Washington Irving's short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Chapter 9: The Falling Snow

Ichabod sat on the make shift bed inside the Tree of the Dead, staring into the fire. He sighed, feeling utterly bored. He had been down here in the Tree for three months now and he missed the outside world. Viktor may have given him anything and everything that he could ask for, food, clothes, books, but he missed his home. He missed simple things, like being able to go outside by himself. Viktor was very protective of him and the baby. He would only let Ichabod out for a few hours a week, and even during that time, Ichabod wasn't allowed out of the Hessian's sight. Further more, he wasn't permitted to go out during the light hours, since Viktor thought that that time of day was the most dangerous.

His time in the Tree was spent mostly sleeping and eating. He felt completely useless, unable to earn his keep. It was like he was a mere child.

Ichabod stroked the top of his stomach gently. He had gained a good deal of weight now that he had nothing to do all day. It was a strange change for him, to be soft and round instead of small and thin. He wondered briefly if he would be able to lose the weight after the baby was born. At that moment, he wished that he had the medical book that the doctor had lent him.

Ichabod fingered the wooden horse that the Hessian had made for their baby. It took him a while to get used to the fact that the Hessian actually loved him and that he loved him back, but now he just felt smothered. He longed for some time to himself, outside of the Tree.

Just then, the Horsemen came back in threw the doorway of fire and blood. He rode in on top of his dark steed, Daredevil, with two sacks on his back. He dismounted from the ghost horse with a thud, placing the larger of the two sacks down in front of the constable.

"I brought you your dinner, meine liebe," he said. "Eat. You need your strength."

Ichabod shook his head half heartedly, clutching the toy horse in his hand closer to him. "I'm not hungry," he said meekly.

Viktor frowned at the young man's words, something that would usually strike fear into the hearts of those who gazed upon him, but Ichabod was used to the gesture and simply continued to wallow in his own self pity. "You must eat, if not for yourself then for the child. You hardly ate your breakfast or your lunch."

"I don't feel like eating, Viktor."

The Horseman knelt down in front of the young man, grasping his hand softly in his and began to them stroke it gently. The miserable look on the lovely young mortal's face was enough to make the German's heart clench in sympathy. He loved the boy dearly and knew that he didn't deserve him or the gift that the young man was carrying inside of him. "What is it, meine liebe? What do you desire? Whatever it is, you only need ask."

Ichabod looked up at him sadly, a small glimpse of hope shinning in his dark brown orbs. "I want to go outside," he said, then added timidly, "alone."

Viktor stared at him in disbelief for a moment before shaking his head at him. "No," he told him. "I am sorry meine liebe, but it is too dangerous."

"But you said I could have whatever I wanted!" he said desperately as tears began to form in his dark brown eyes.

The dead man felt his heart break at the sight before him. He knew that the pregnancy was making Ichabod overly sensitive, but he still couldn't stand to see him this way. Yet he wanted to stay firm to his point. He shook his head sternly. "I am sorry, it is too dangerous."

"Please. Can't you just let me be alone? Just for once?"

He sighed. There was no way he could keep the boy here with him forever. He knew that it was only a matter of time before he drifted away from him. He nodded quickly, kissing the back of the pregnant young man's hand. "Promise me you will not wander far."

Ichabod smiled, wrapping his arms around the Hessian's neck. "Yes," he promised, tears of joy falling freely down his pale cheeks. Pulling back, he quickly wiped the tears from his face. He unconsciously put the wooden horse that he had been fingering into the pocket of his coat before he started get up. He struggled for a moment, his round belly making it hard for him to move about freely, before the Hessian gathered him in his arms and lifted him onto Daredevil's back. Despite the weight gain, the constable was still very light. Mounting the ghost horse, he wrapped one arm around the mortal's swollen middle and gripped the reins tightly in his free hand, the doorway of fire and blood emerged and the Hessian rode through.

Ichabod closed his eyes and cringed slightly as he felt the now familiar wave of nausea that occurred when passing through the portal. He only opened his eyes again when he felt the cold, fresh winter air caressing his face. The Hessian then slid off of the horse from the back and helped the pregnant young man down. Taking off his thick black riding cloak, he draped it around the mortal's shoulders. Ichabod gripped the cloak tightly around himself. Despite the fact that he was out in the sunlight for the first time in months, the inspector still looked miserable.

Ichabod began to stalk off into the woods and the Horseman felt his heart break in half. Viktor sat on a near by snow covered log and let out a long sigh as he stared at the retreating form of his young lover. He wondered how much time he had left with Ichabod.

Ichabod looked around the snow covered forest around him and sighed. It felt like ages since he had last seen the sunshine and had almost forgotten how good it felt. He shivered slightly, it was still cold out.

He wandered threw the forest and began to feel his mind drifting. Was this really how his life was going to be? Having to ask permission just to go outside alone? He frowned at the thought, placing a protective hand on top of his swollen abdomen. What would things be like for their baby? Taking its first steps inside of a death tree, never knowing a moment's privacy. He couldn't let that happen.

Yet in his heart, he knew he loved the Hessian and wanted the other man to be a part of their child's life. He suddenly felt very tired as he went to sit down on a near by tree stomp. The sky seemed to darken ever so slightly as soft puffy snowflakes drifted down to the ground all around him. Things suddenly became very blurry and Ichabod found it a little hard to see, but the gently falling snow relaxed him a bit. He sighed, seeing his breath very clearly, and began to rub small circles on his stomach as he felt the baby begin to move inside of him in a somewhat frantic manner.

"What's wrong?" he asked his baby quietly, frowning slightly. He turned his gaze over to his side and gasped in surprise. He was sitting beside the Lake of Fertility! That must have been why his baby was moving around so much.

He stood up and gazed at the frozen water. He felt his throat clench and tears threaten to spill. He was back at the beginning, standing in the same spot where all of this had started. If he hadn't come here that warm summer night, he never would have conceived. None of this would have ever happened, and yet, even then he hadn't been the one to decide weather or not that event would take place. It seemed as though the past few months had been decided for him.

No more, he thought as determination started welling up inside of him. I will not be letting others decide things for me anymore.

His ears seemed to perk up as he heard the faint sound of someone calling his name. He turned and looked behind him. Through the haze of the falling snow, he was barely able to make out two figures on horseback.

He staggered towards the two figures, his legs seeming to move by their own will, the Hessian only a faint thought in the very back of his mind. After a moment he was able to make out the two figures as Katrina and Masbath. He gapped at the two in surprise, his tired mind unable to form words.

"Ichabod?" he heard Katrina say from the distance.

"K-Katrina?" he stammered, his mind in a daze.

Sliding off the white mare she had been riding, she rushed over to his side and wrapped her arms around his neck. Ichabod unconsciously stumbled backwards. He blinked in confusion, his head was spinning, he couldn't think straight. The last time he had seen Katrina she had slapped him and told him she never wanted to see him again. Now, she was actually hugging him!

Katrina took a step back from him in surprise, holding him at arms length. She stared down at his stomach, now too round to hide, making his condition painfully clear. Her eyes widened with surprise. "Ichabod!" she gasped. "You... you... you have gotten so big!"

He nodded unconsciously. "Katrina," he began. "Wha... what is going on? What are you doing out here?"

"We were looking for you," she explained calmly, her voice soft and soothing similar to one that you would use to speak to a small child.

"Looking for me?" he repeated in confusion.

"Yes sir," Masbath said as he walked over toward the two. His was practically glowing with relief. "When you were kidnapped three months ago... well... I got worried. I contacted the authorities, but no one seemed to be able to find you. After a while, I came here, to the Hollow, to get Miss Katrina and ask for her help in finding you."

"It wasn't easy," Katrina said, still holding Ichabod's shoulders. "I cast a location spell to find you. It said that you were here somewhere, but it wasn't able to say exactly where. I realized then that you were probably being held captive by the Horseman." Her voice faltered as she frowned slightly, a sad sort of relief over taking her childish face. She leaned forward and embraced him tightly. "I was so worried we'd never be able to find you," she sobbed. "How ever were you able to escape?"

Ichabod stared at her blankly as he tried to register what she had said. Captive? Was that what he was? Suddenly, it felt very much like that. He had to ask the Hessian permission for everything. Viktor told him when to sleep, what he could and couldn't eat, he even made him stay inside all day long, only allowing him to leave if he were there to supervise him.

"I... he... he let me go," he said truthfully.

Katrina quirked an eyebrow at him. "Let you go? How? Why?"

"I... I asked."

Both Katrina and Masbath stared at him bewildered. He wanted to explain everything to them. He wanted to tell them that the Hessian loved him and he loved the other man as well. He wanted to tell them that in the time he had spent inside the Tree of the Dead, the Horseman had never even raised his voice at him. He mentally shook his head, he knew that they would never understand, he couldn't even grasp it completely. "It's... it's difficult to explain," he said quietly.

"Well, you can tell us about it back home," Katrina said sweetly, tugging at his arm and dragging him towards the horses.

Ichabod felt his eyes widen in surprise and his mouth drop open. "H-home?"

She nodded, pulling him a little harder now. "Come now Ichabod, before you catch a cold."

He was about to reply, but Masbath cut him off, grabbing his other arm and dragging him off in the same direction Katrina was. "She's right, sir," he added. "The snow seems to be getting heavier. It probably won't be good for you or the baby to stay out here."

Ichabod felt confused, neither one of them seemed willing to let him go and he wasn't sure if he wanted to go with them or not. He sighed and let himself be dragged off toward the Van Tassel home.