Let's Go Home
Chapter 4
Summary: What has Icabod been doing all this time alone in Abbie's apartment? Will Abbie be able to teach him how to use chopsticks? Read on to find out!
AN: This chapter got rather long, so I split it up into two... Enjoy!
And Now, the Continuation...
Abbie walked up the stairs to her apartment. She'd told Crane that she would be back by noon, but by now it was getting to be late afternoon. Most of the morning had been spent on patrol, reassuring the good people of Sleepy Hollow that there was, in fact, no deadly plague and no need to panic. When she finally checked in at the office Captain Irving had instructed her to take Crane to get some vaccinations.
It should be no problem, a simple doctor's visit really. Crane had already been in the hospital once and now he wasn't even sick. It'll be fine. 'We'll pick up some lunch on the way,' she thought.
She turned her key in the lock and stepped inside. She froze, not quite sure how to take in the improbable scene before her eyes.
'No,' Abbie thought, putting a hand over her eyes to block it out, 'Can this really be happening right now? A Revolutionary War soldier is standing in my kitchen, washing the dishes. Maybe I really am crazy and the past few weeks, it's all been a dream. Maybe the night Corbin was killed, I hit my head and I'm in a coma, making this all up in my mind. Maybe –"
"Miss Mills? Are you okay?"
Abbie blinked as Icabod's soapy hand pulled her hand away from her eyes. She looked right into his concerned face. He was saying with some urgency, "What is it? Are you alright?"
"It's nothing. I'm fine," Abbie assured him. He was confused by her strange behavior.
"Sorry. I'm fine, really. I just had a strange thought there for a moment. Don't worry about it."
Icabod was not satisfied. He asked, "What is it you're thinking, Miss Mills? Please tell me."
"It's just that, you know, rationally it's impossible for you to be here, suddenly in the middle of my life, doing the dishes no less, when by all rights you should be off fighting the redcoats. I just thought, what if none of this is real and I've imagined it all?" Abbie explained the best she could, hoping he wouldn't make a big deal about it.
"You're doubting yourself again. Miss Mills," Icabod said very seriously, taking Abbie's hand and placing it over his heart, "I assure you that I am very real and I am here now."
"O-kay." she smiled, amused at his intensity, "Thanks for the reality check!"
"Any time. I am quite at your service," Icabod replied.
"And you're rockin' the apron, by the way." Abbie grinned as she appraised the tall man wearing an apron that read 'KISS THE COOK' in big flirty letters.
Slightly flustered, Icabod wiped his hands on the front of the apron and turned back to the sink.
He retorted, "I was looking for a coffee cup, but it appears that every utensil you own is filthy! Something had to be done."
Abbie was too amused to take offense. She replied lightly, "You know, Crane, if you really feel that way then maybe you should just stay here for good. I could use some help unpacking, arranging the spice rack…"
Icabod suddenly realized that he'd had quite enough of cleaning for the day and promptly untied the apron. He wadded it up and handed it to Abbie with a smirk, saying, "In that case, Leftenant, I hereby submit my resignation."
Abbie laughed and tossed the apron onto the counter while Icabod was already pulling on his boots and coat.
'Wow, he really did clean everything!' she thought when she saw most of her dishes neatly stacked beside the sink, a few bowls still in the soapy water.
"Let's go grab something to eat then I've got to take you somewhere."
Icabod was already at the door. "Let's go."
"So, how do you feel about Chinese?" Abbie asked.
Taking in his expression, she answered herself, "Baffled. Shoulda seen that coming."
…
The lunch rush had finally wound down and Kevin Li settled in to wait out another dull afternoon at Sleepy Hollow's only Fast China Wok. He leaned against the counter next to the cash register and tapped away on his smart phone, texting Maggie, the pretty girl from his Algebra class.
The little bell above the door jingled. Kevin tore his eyes from his phone to see two lunch-time stragglers walk towards him.
"Hey Abbie, how's it going? You want your usual?"
"Hey Kevin. Yeah, make it two orders, for here. And add a small thing of crab wontons too, please."
"Coming right up!" Kevin rung up the order and yelled into the back office, "Yo, Paul, come out here and help me!" He counted out the change and handed it over the counter.
"Thanks," Abbie said.
"Hey, what's with him?" Kevin asked her, nodding towards the tall man, dressed in some kind of weird old fashioned clothes, staring transfixed at the menu board.
Abbie glanced at her companion, who was slowly reading the items to himself, "…Moo…shoo…"
"Uh, he's from out of town," she supplied.
"Oh. Cool," Kevin said, quickly shooting one last text to Maggie before sliding the phone into his pocket and turning back to the kitchen. "It'll be ready in about ten."
Later, Kevin brought the food over to them at the little table by the window, tossing two sets of chopsticks and a bunch of soy sauce and duck sauce packets onto the table.
He went back to his post by the cashier and scrolled through his facebook newsfeed. Tami had invited him to a party next weekend. Kevin had always thought Tami was kind of annoying, but she was Maggie's best friend. She'd probably be at the party too, wouldn't she?
…
Abbie tried briefly to teach Icabod how to use chopsticks properly, but he'd made a great mess of it, grains of rice tumbling everywhere. Abbie didn't press the issue since he seemed quite flustered about it and he quickly decided to make do simply raising his bowl and scooping the food right into his mouth.
"Bizarre utensils aside, this is quite good!" Icabod declared, "I am continually amazed at the myriad varieties of food available at a moment's notice."
"It is good, isn't it?" Abbie agreed.
"Here, have some more of this," she said and deftly picked up a few morsels of chicken from the large plate with her chopsticks and deposited them into his bowl, one by one, adding a few veggies for good measure.
"Thank you," he replied graciously. In between bites, Icabod said, "I am most anxious to return to the archives. I believe there is something we missed in the book I was –"
"Hold your horses now, Crane," Abbie interrupted, "We're not going back to the archives just yet."
"All of my horses have surely perished many many years ago, and I do not see how they pertain to this conversation at all."
Abbie shook her head, "Uh, never mind. Anyway, you have a doctor's visit today. I figure we can just go to the Minute Clinic down on Main Street."
"I have no need for a doctor. Aside from our encounter with pestilence yesterday, I am the picture of health," Icabod assured her.
"Let me explain," Abbie began, absently pointing her chopsticks in Icabod's direction, "Like it or not, you live here now and we need to do this. Every few years people go to the doctor's to have a physical. It's not because you're sick, it's just like a check-up to measure your height, weight, blood pressure, make sure you have your vaccinations… A precautionary measure."
"I appreciate your concern, Miss Mills, but I'm not sure such measures are entirely necessary," Icabod said, unconvinced that this modern custom actually applied to him.
"Crane, this really is important. Just trust me," Abbie said, adding, "and besides, Captain Irving told me to take you, so neither of us really have a choice anyway."
Icabod sighed. He definitely didn't want to argue with the Captain unless absolutely necessary. It might be best to go along with it, for now anyway.
"Alright," he consented reluctantly, "if you insist."
…
TBC