"Well, that wasn't quite what I was expecting for Christmas." Abbie groaned, dropping onto her couch heavily, sprawling out as if she'd never move again. Crane sighed in agreement as he settled a tad more gracefully onto the seat left of her. "Mm. I do believe I'm ready for bed. Though I also believe that it's only midday, so that seems somewhat out of place."
"I won't tell if you won't."
Crane turned his head so he was looking down at her, blue eyes appraising her with a note of concern. Slumped low on the couch cushions, she was even shorter than usual. "You did not sustain any injuries?"
"Nothing more than bumps and bruises." Abbie might have elbowed him for emphasis if she wasn't so bone-weary. He was still staring at her, and she hid a yawn before asking "You okay?"
He nodded, absently, his mind clearly on other things. Abbie sighed at the crease between his eyebrows, the edgy twisting together of his fingers. "And, bonus, you didn't hand-deliver my soul to any demons, so you can stop worrying about that."
I knew it. Crane's guilty expression confirmed what Abbie knew already - that was exactly what he'd been worrying about. "Crane. I've already told you, you can't keep obsessing over that. Moloch is going to try and trick us, wear us down, and he's going to do that any way he can. We've already proved we can dispatch his minions already-" She waved a hand outside, indicating the latest adventure that had befallen them, a battle against a trio of eight-foot-tall, troll-like demons who had been attacking hikers in the woods to get their attention. "-so he's going to try to get to us up here." She tapped Crane's forehead gently, and he blinked at her slowly, contemplating her words through his obvious exhaustion. "You... have that much faith in me?"
Abbie couldn't hide her yawn this time, and her tiredness lent to a somewhat blunter response than she might have given if she'd had the energy to think about her answer. "Crane I have more faith in you than in anyone else in the world."
His eyes widened slightly, and he looked down at her and forgot to look away. Not that Abbie noticed, since she had nodded off, head tilted back against the couch. Ichabod considered the spare room, flexing his fingers uncomfortably. Still, they had already shared a bed that one night... that was strictly platonic, Ichabod reminded himself, though he had awoken the morning afterwards with some decidedly non-platonic feelings for the woman curled securely against his back. (And moved, inch by inch, out of bed slowly, so not to wake Abbie, too ashamed to face her... he had acted like nothing had happened when she did get up and she'd done the same, bustling about the kitchen making breakfast.) I was feeling hurt that Katrina had kept such a monumental truth from our relationship and I sought comfort from Miss Mills in an hour of need that would not otherwise have been appropriate.
Oh, sod it.
He summoned the energy to reach for a blanket on the couch arm, holding his breath when he had to stretch over Abbie for it. Though his elbow brushed her arm and chest, she didn't stir. Ichabod tucked the blanket around her, then draped the remaining corner over his own legs, and let sleep claim him.
Abbie woke to find one shoulder and the side of her face warmer than the rest of her body. She blinked sleep from her eyes, then realized the warmth was Ichabod's shoulder, which she was leaning on. His head was resting on hers, and she felt the soft hair of his beard against her temple.
She was so comfortable, apart from the cold, it took her several more minutes to summon up the willpower to move. Crane jerked upright when she did so, his blue eyes flying open. "Oh, my apologies Lieutenant..." He muttered, getting up off the couch immediately. Abbie, well-used to his ways by now, waved a hand. "Chill." She advised, to Crane's puzzlement. "Is it not cold enough in here already?"
Abbie sighed, but nodded. The sun, unseen behind the bank of snow-filled cloud, must be setting because it was growing dark in her small kitchen/lounge room. Both she and Crane had hung up their snow-covered coats after coming inside. She headed to turn the heat on, but Ichabod of course made a beeline for the fireplace she'd never bothered to maintain before he came along. He had a fire lit before she could get the kettle boiled to make tea. (He'd chopped the wood himself, saying he found it a therapeutic pastime.)
"So, want your presents now? I was going to put them in your stocking, but that's back at your cabin." Without waiting for an answer, Abbie lightly deposited a purple plastic bag of wrapped presents into Crane's lap. He stared at them with delight and dismay fighting to overome one another. "Abbie!" He exclaimed. "You shouldn't have purchased these for me."
She snorted, though she couldn't help a little smile at the use of her first name. She always softened towards him on the rare occasions he did use it. "Nobody needs a little Christmas cheer more than you do, Crane."
The way he was looking down at the presents, his fingertips twitching restlessly, made her grin - she knew that however much he didn't want to accept the presents, he was itching to know what was in them. A wave of affection washed over Abbie. He's just a big kid.
"Go ahead and open them. They're not waiting until next Christmas."
He finally gave in and reached for the biggest present. It was the volume of classics she'd gotten him the day before, and he pulled each book out to examine reverently. The photo frame puzzled him, until Abbie explained what it was for. He laughed at his Avengers T-shirt, and was obviously touched at the MP3 player, though he showed some mistrust when Abbie showed him how to use it.
"These go in my ear?" He held one of the earbuds by it's cord between thumb and forefinger like it was a hazardous spider. Abbie bit her tongue to stop from giggling. "It's not permanent, Crane. Listen." She turned the player on and took the earbud from him, tilting her head sternly when he ducked away from her. "Crane. Stop being so suspicious." She scolded, showing him on herself first. By the time she got up to make a second round of tea for them, he was listening to music with a expression of intense concentration on his face, muttering occasionally under his breath so that Abbie only caught snatches of what he was saying. "...recognizably string instruments... though as to the wailing screech I couldn't begin to imagine..."
When she came back with a mug for them both, Crane had set aside the music player and was regarding her with a half-smile. Instantly on her guard, she handed him his tea. "What?"
"I have something for you, too." He produced a small package, delighting in her obvious surprise. Tearing the wrapping paper, she was doubly surprised to find a jewelry box. Bursting with curiousity, she flipped the lid up.
It was a necklace, a simple silver chain link with two pendants suspended from it. One was a smooth, beautifully lined green stone. The second, silver to match the necklace, was a beautifully crafted dolphin.
She loved it instantly.
"Crane! This is one of the best presents I've ever gotten." She exclaimed softly, reaching out to rest her fingertips on the dolphin. "When did you get this?"
"Carole helped with transportation." Ichabod admitted. He had been working most mornings at the nearby stables, and the managers, appreciative of his able help, had been paying him cash-in-hand. But she'd expected he would be saving the money for things that he needed, not presents for her.
"It's beautiful. What's the stone?"
"Malachite. A good luck charm to the Native Americans - it keeps away danger and illness. The dolphin also is a good luck talisman, thought bring protection."
"All things we could use more of." Abbie smiled wryly. "Thank you, Crane. I love it."
The necklace was just long enough she could slip it over her head instead of opening the clasp. The insubstantial weight of the pendants felt natural and reassuring, as if she'd always worn them.
"Glad you like it. Merry Christmas, Lieutenant."
Quick chapter tonight. Hope all my wonderful readers had a great Christmas, this one's for you guys :)