House
Chapter 5
Summary: How does Jenny react to Abbie's burgeoning career as an arsonist? Also, where are they all going to sleep that night? Could there be a shopping trip in the future?
A/N: The rest of this story is not going to be as much action as the beginning, it'll be more like drama/how to carry on with life… I hope you still like it!
…
With a tired sigh, Abbie closed her eyes and leaned her head against the window. She sat in the passenger's seat of Captain Irving's SUV. The heater was set to max and the warm air was just starting to slow her shivering.
She slipped her feet out of her soggy sneakers and pulled them up onto the seat, wrapping the emergency blanket around her legs.
Her thoughts slipped in various directions. She felt a sweet relief that she and Crane had made it through another misadventure more or less intact. The bitter loss of watching her home go up in flames and crying on Crane's shoulder had left her feeling drained.
If she could go back in time, Abbie knew she'd do the same thing. Even if there'd been another way to kill that evil tree branch demon, there was no way she'd be able to set foot in that house again. Abbie Mills and haunted houses just don't mix.
'All my clothes are gone. I'll have to go shopping,' she thought to herself, trying to focus on the practical tasks at hand, 'Who knows, maybe I can finally get Crane to try on some new clothes…All my shoes are gone. My big, soft bed is gone…Oh, all my books. The little box at the bottom of the closet with the birthday cards from Corbin, the love letters from Luke – Well, maybe it is better those burned…but all the photos from my college days…'
Abbie sniffed. The sadness was pulling at her again.
'When did I become so materialistic? Think about it this way, you still have what's important. You've started over with nothing before and this time isn't anywhere near as bad. You have your life, you have Crane now, even Jenny too some days.'
She shifted in the seat and rested her chin on her knees, looking out the window.
Crane was over there, talking with Captain Irving by the fire truck, grey emergency blanket wrapped tight around his shoulders. He must be freezing, Valley Forge veteran or not, and was definitely walking a bit stiffly. He'd taken quite a tumble escaping from the garage door.
'Stop worrying about him, Abbie,' she told herself, 'He knows to come in here if he's too cold.'
…..
Abbie blinked open her eyes. She must have dozed off for a few minutes in the now toasty warm car. She looked out the window.
Crane was still standing out there by Captain Irving, but now Jenny was with them. When had she gotten here?
Abbie jammed her feet back into her sneakers and went to join them.
"Hey, Jenny," she greeted her sister.
"Hey, Abbie. The guys filled me in. You okay?" Jenny asked, concerned. It was a strange feeling because usually Abbie was the concerned one and Jenny was the one who had gotten into some sort of trouble or other.
"Yeah, I'm alright," Abbie said, adding, "My house, though, not so much."
"Mm-hmm," Jenny turned to face the ruins of the smoldering house, taking in the view.
"Arson. I'm impressed," she said, glancing back at her sister, eyebrow raised appreciatively.
"You would be," Abbie muttered, just barely cracking a smile.
"Impressed, and now officially homeless."
Abbie just nodded.
Finally Ichabod spoke up, "Let's get out of here, Lieutenant."
"Yeah," Abbie agreed, tiredly rubbing her eyes. She was more than ready to leave.
"I don't know about you, but I'm starving."
At the mention of food, Ichabod realized that he too was very hungry. They hadn't eaten all day and now his stomach began to growl in protest.
"I think I'd better drive," Jenny said, pulling Abbie's keys out of her pocket, almost expecting her sister to protest.
"Perhaps we can go to the drive-through?" Ichabod suggested helpfully, pleased to put his new-found knowledge to use. He had disliked the whole concept of fast food right from the beginning, but he now realized that, for situations like this, a quick, hot, ready-made meal would be most appropriate.
"Good idea," Abbie agreed.
"Mills, hold up!" Captain Irving called, "Do you all have somewhere to stay tonight?"
"Yeah, I figured we'd just go to Corbin's old cabin by the lake, sir," Abbie replied, stifling a yawn.
Irving shook his head, "You don't want to go all the way out there at this hour. Why don't you crash at my place tonight? It's just ten minutes from here."
Abbie was a little surprised at the offer, "Are you sure, all three of us?"
"Yeah, it's no problem," he assured them, adding, "You've been through enough tonight, it's the least I can do."
"Thank you," Abbie said gratefully. She didn't really want to drive all the way out through the creepy woods to the drafty old cabin.
…
Captain Irving opened the door to his apartment and walked inside, followed by Jenny, Abbie, and Ichabod.
"Nice place," Jenny said, looking around approvingly. She plopped down on the couch in the living room, sinking into the soft cushions, stretching her arms out.
"No, by all means, please make yourself at home," Captain Irving said sarcastically, but Jenny just leaned her head back and smiled.
Ichabod carried the empty Happy Meal bags and balled up wrappers into the kitchen and tossed them in the trash.
"I can't believe you ate all my French fries," he complained to Abbie.
"Sorry," she said, not sounding the least bit sorry.
Jenny bounced up off the couch and strode over to check out the big flat-screen TV and the pile of DVD's scattered around it.
She held up a DVD case.
"Emperor's New Groove?" she asked with a teasing smile, "Frank, I didn't take you for a Disney man."
"It's Macey's. She loves that stuff," Irving said.
"She has good taste," Jenny replied, setting it back down and moving on to look at the picture frames on the bookshelf.
At this point Captain Irving was starting to have second thoughts about this plan. The psych patient curiously snooping through his living room, the two Witnesses to the apocalypse bickering in his kitchen.
He steeled himself for the task at hand. Like it or not, this was his team and he had to take care of them.
"I'll find some clean clothes and extra blankets," Irving said, partially to himself.
"Thank you, sir," Abbie said.
"Hall bathroom is over there, the second shower is through the bedroom," he directed, looking at Mills and Crane pointedly, "Go ahead and clean up. You two look like extras in a bad horror movie."
He was right, they did look like a mess. Abbie's clothes were damp and muddy and she had scrapes on her hands and knees. Ichabod was similarly banged up and was once again smeared with that unnerving tree-blood.
He looked decidedly uncomfortable and worn out, Abbie noted, but at least he didn't look so…shell shocked this time.
"You heard the man," Abbie said, pushing Ichabod towards the hall bathroom, "go on and get cleaned up. You smell like smoke."
To Be Continued…..
Preview: Ichabbie vs. First Aid (as promised) and also some awkward social situations for the A-Team!