She looked so peaceful.

Her eyes were closed; her lids and long lashes blinking every so often in sleep. Her thick hair was fanned out over the pillows; the red a stark contrast to the white material. The sheets and blankets covering her were draped over her perfectly as he'd pulled them up to her shoulders to ward off the cool morning air. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel discomfort due to something as trivial as the weather. That was something he could help; something he could actually fix.

If only everything else could be as easily dealt with.

For the past half hour, he'd contented himself with watching her sleep; ever grateful for the chance to actually do so again when not so long ago he'd thought he'd lost her forever. The very idea of never falling asleep in her warm embrace again... Or never feeling the soft brush of her lips against his... It was unfathomable. The utter despair he would have fallen prey to. His love. His reason for picking himself up everyday; for fighting for a better world. She was all he'd ever really wanted. For so long, he'd thought honor and prestige would give him the happiness he'd longed for as a boy, but he'd been so very wrong. All the knowledge and power in the world couldn't compare to the caress of her hand; to that special look in her eyes which she saved solely for him. Nothing could compare to the way she made him feel.

Nothing.

Now, though, he had something even more miraculous. A baby. His and Katrina's baby. The very thought of it brought a smile to his face. After they'd married, the war had began so quickly that they'd decided to wait on having children. In a world where they both could be gone the next day due to the danger involved in their occupations, they'd feared leaving any child they may have had with no one to care for it. However, that hadn't stopped the deep longing in his heart and he knew Katrina had felt the same. A child, a physical representation of their love and all they'd overcome to be together, was everything they'd wanted. It was what they'd fought for every day.

The only problem was that now they were in an even larger war; one much more dangerous than the previous one he'd thought he was fighting. This wasn't a regular scuffle between men pushing a cause. This was supernatural; demonic. How could he protect a child from things he couldn't even at times see? How could he assure his son or daughter that all would be well? That he or she would grow up in a world in which they were safe?

The answer is, he couldn't.

Neither he nor Katrina could ever be sure they'd be here tomorrow to protect their precious creation. He wasn't even sure he would be able to properly raise a child in a world he was accustomed to, much less the one he now found himself in. After six months of living in the twenty-first century, he felt as if he'd still only just stepped into it yesterday. There was simply so much to learn; so much happening in day to day life. He'd been worrying enough over how he was going to help Katrina adjust in a world he was still unadjusted to. How could he do the same with a child? Would he forever be a failure when it came to teaching his child even the most basic knowledge? He'd once prided himself on being more advanced than most, more intelligent, but now he could barely get through the day without looking like a complete buffoon.

The creak of the front door pulled his gaze from his slumbering love and conflicted thoughts to the open bedroom door where he found Abbie entering the cabin with a large bag in hand. Her eyes danced about for a moment before settling on him. An apologetic smile then graced her face as he carefully slipped from the bed, making sure not to awaken Katrina who was still soundlessly sleeping.

"Hey, sorry," Abbie apologized as he closed the bedroom door behind him. "I didn't mean to disturb you guys. I just wanted to drop some stuff off for Katrina."

"Oh, no, I wasn't asleep," he assured with a tired smile as he gestured to the bag, curious as to its contents. "You've brought her something?"

Abbie gave an energetic nod as she set the bag on the sofa. "Yeah, I figured an eighteenth century dress might draw a little more attention than your own colonial clothing."

He chuckled at the image of he and Katrina walking down the modern streets of this century in their usual clothing. The idea of it was enough to bring a genuine smile to his face.

"You're ever thoughtful, Leftenant." He fixed her with soft eyes. "Thank you."

She waved her hand as though it were no big deal. However, he felt the need to express how, to him, it meant the world. He wasn't sure how he would ever have survived without her.

"It's truly the kindest gesture you could have made," he admitted as he fingered the bags' handle. "I shall never be able to repay such thoughtful kindness."

"Eh, I needed to clean my closet out anyway," she said as she shifted with mild discomfort. "Goodwill gets a visit from me about once a year. I figured why not help out a friend, instead?"

A low chuckle escaped him as he rested his hands over the back of the sofa. "I assure you that anything you offer will be accepted as a blessing. I must admit I had not thought ahead to such things as clothing for her."

"Yeah, well, you were kinda busy trying to do the near impossible by just getting her here," Abbie offered with an amused smile. "I think she might let that one slide."

Absentmindedly nodding along with her assessment, he fiddled with a loose thread along the back of the sofa, unsure how to broach the subject he knew he needed to discuss. With the thought of how wonderful a friend Abbie was, he felt a pain in his heart over the burdens he continually piled onto her shoulders. What sort of man had he become? When had he began to so heavily rely upon others for the things he should be doing himself?

"So, how is she?"

From her tone, he could tell there was a pinch of confusion about her, which, of course, made sense. There weren't many instances where he and Abbie entertained awkward silences, but they seemed to be setting a record at present. Over the course of his time in this century, Katrina had become a subject he both spoke a great deal of while never truly speaking about. It was as if he felt the need to win Abbie over with all of the wonderful qualities his wife possessed while keeping the truly intimate parts of their marriage to himself. It was only recently that he'd come to realize how genuine Abigail Mills' friendship was. He didn't need to give thousands of reasons as a plea for her to help save his wife. Abbie would help him regardless as she was simply a kind soul. Such a quality wasn't something he was entirely accustomed to and it was making him adjust some of the deeply engrained snap judgments he tended to make in regards to people as a whole.

It seemed his time of denial was at an end. So, after releasing a rather heavy sigh through his nose, he said, "She's tired as you can probably imagine."

"Yeah, two centuries without sleep will do that to a person."

He wished he could bring himself to smile at her lighthearted response. He truly did. However, the words weighing in his mind weren't permitting it. There simply wasn't an easy way to go about saying this.

"She's with child."

The occasional brush of a branch against the roof along with the soft tweeting of the birds outside were the only sounds that filled the cabin in the aftermath of his confession. It wasn't surprising to him. He hadn't expected an immediate congratulations. He wasn't sure he even deserved one at this moment what with all of the doubts that were currently circling in his mind.

"That means pregnant, right?" she asked in a tone he couldn't quite place, but thought might be somewhere along the vein of disbelief. "As in, a baby's currently cooking inside her?"

Slightly annoyed at her need to prolong his anticipation of knowing what she was thinking, he shifted his feet, which were rather chilly against the wooden floor, and gave her a withering stare. "If you don't object, I believe I prefer my phrasing."

As this was the first sight he'd caught of her since uttering the news, he took in her stiff jaw and crossed arms.

"I don't want to sound insensitive, Crane, but I have to ask this as not only your friend, but also as someone new to the supernatural." She then paused for a beat; a deeply concerned expression on her face. "Are you sure the baby's yours?"

A burning, one that had his heart pounding something fierce, began deep in his chest, something she must have noticed affecting him as she quickly added, "I just mean that it's been a really long time since you two were together and, the last time I checked, pregnancies last nine to ten months, not two hundred years. I'm just trying to understand how this is possible."

Doing his best to control himself and keep the next words out of his mouth from running rampant, he gripped the back of the sofa and took a deep breath. "I give you the fact that you don't know Katrina, have never laid eyes upon her before last night, but my wife loves me and would never do such thing to betray me. I'm more than positive that the child she carries is mine and mine alone."

Abbie held up her hands as her eyebrows shot up. "I'm sorry. I just... this is a lot to take in and I want to make sure everything's as it should be, alright? I just don't want to see you hurt, Crane." She tilted her head forward as a means to catch his eyes, which he permitted as her gaze was filled with so much care. "I know you love her and... well, she went to hell for you so I guess that speaks volumes as to her love for you."

Squeezing his eyes shut to keep in the emotion which was attempting to break free of its cage, he lifted a hand to wipe down his face. "Forgive me, Leftenant. I'm simply rather stressed this morning. I know you only mean to protect me and I'm eternally grateful for your friendship, but..."

"It's a lot to take in," she softly offered.

For a few dozen heartbeats, he remained still as he forced himself to regain his composure. Then, he sought out her gaze again to find her staring at her boots rather than observing him in his distress. Eternal gratefulness once again filled him for her friendship.

"I haven't the slightest idea of what to think about this," he admitted as he felt his eyes begin to burn, despite his efforts to bite everything bubbling beneath the surface down. "I have no money; no means of transportation. I have no way to help myself or my wife much less a living, breathing child."

He shook his head as the weight of his situation began suffocating him. "I only just reunited with Katrina after learning she's a witch. If that wasn't enough to process and worry over, now she's carrying my child and ..." He stared at Abbie with a lost feeling in his gut; one that had him feeling like the most useless being on the planet. "I don't know how to be a father; how to care for a child on my best day." He flung a hand toward the door as if it were the villain haunting his nightmares. "How am I to do that here? How am I to provide for my family, for the one's I love most, when I can't even provide for myself? This is a world that neither Katrina nor I will ever completely understand. How are we to raise a child here?"

Not waiting for a response, he threw his hands up and began pacing the length of the sitting area. "None of this is even to mention the fact that we're attempting to prevent the Apocalypse. We're fighting a war that will determine the fate of every man, woman, and child. How can I do that while trying to also care for my family? Both are such important missions; missions that require every ounce of attention I possess, yet I'll be expected to attend to both. How am I to do such a thing?"

When he finally met Abbie's gaze as she'd remained quiet throughout his entire rant, he found her pursing her lips with a thoughtful expression on her face. The sight caused him to immediately feel guilty for carrying on the way he had been. None of this was her burden to bear, yet she was standing there, as resolute as ever, listening to him moan and groan about himself.

"Those are all very good questions," she said as she crossed her arms. "Have you talked to Katrina about any of this?"

Feeling himself deflate like a balloon, he once again took up his place behind the rocker and answered, "How could I? I only just freed her from a two century sentence in a form of Hell. How could I burden her with such worries as this when I'm sure she's terrified of everything else happening around her?"

"Crane," Abbie said softly, even brandishing a crooked smile. "She loves you. Isn't that supposed to mean that whatever bothers you, bothers her, too? You and I might be in this war together, but you and Katrina are about to face your own little battle. You need to stick together and communicate. That's the only way you're going to figure all of this out."

"But the finances-"

"Don't worry about that right now," she cut in with a raised hand. "That baby won't be here for a long time and I'm sure we'll have something figured out by then. Let that be tomorrow's worry, alright? We have enough concerns today without borrowing worry we don't need right now."

Forcing himself to take a deep breath and actually hear her words rather than attempt to respond to them, he reluctantly nodded. "Thank you, Abbie. I'm not sure where I'd be without you."

"Probably rotting in an asylum."

Chuckling at her attempt to diffuse the tension in the room, he shook his head with a grin.

"Now," she went on as she backed toward the door. "I'm gonna go. You, mister, go get back in bed with your wife."

He moved to object to her leaving so soon, especially without even a proper invitation to breakfast as a thank you for all she'd done. However, she held up her hand again, once more making him feel like a schoolboy being lectured. "I'm sure it would make her really happy to wake up to you, don't you think?"

Unable to deny such a thought or the knowing look on her face, he allowed all the air he'd been planning to object with seep from his nose as his shoulders straightened even further. Why did she always have to be the one who was right?

"I believe your assertion may have some measure of truth, Leftenant."

With a roll of her eyes, she opened the door and waved over her shoulder. "I'll see you, Crane."

Once the door was closed, he gave a weary sigh over being left to himself and stood there until he heard her vehicle departing. She was right, of course. She always was. Katrina would likely bask in his presence if he was there upon her waking.

Before she'd fallen asleep the previous night, she'd admitted to him that his arms were the safest place she knew and that when she was wrapped in his embrace, the world wasn't such a scary place.

If that's what would make her happy, who was he to deny her such a thing after all she'd endured for him?

Quietly padding back into the bedroom, he observed her still sleeping form; unmoved from the place he'd earlier left her. She was such a sight to behold; her red hair fanned out over the pillows and her eyelids furiously blinking in sleep. He wasn't sure he'd ever enjoyed a more pleasant sight. Never again would he take something as simple as watching her sleep for granted again.

With that thought, he carefully pulled back the blankets and slipped into the space beside her, making sure not to jostle the bed and awaken her.

The cool sheets welcomed him and when he was sure she was still sleeping, he crept his hand around her waist and snuggled close to her; wanting the contentment that came with her body pressed against his.

Her head rolled to the side slightly, causing him to fear he'd fumbled and awoken her, but she settled soon enough, her body once more still in sleep.

Now sure she wasn't going to awaken, he took to staring at his beloved's sweet face. The few freckles that dotted her cheeks were so light he'd truly not noticed them until after they'd married and was given free reign to watch her sleep. He recalled the discovery delighting him as every new fact he had learned about her in that time period had seemed like the discovery of the Holy Grail itself.

While her green eyes, flecked with various golds and browns, were his favorite feature of hers by far, he found that while she was sleeping, he rather enjoyed observing the light twitching of her lips; their smooth texture mesmerizing him and always causing the urge to kiss her to fill him.

As his eyes lingered on her plump lips, he considered that he'd yet to kiss her since their reunion and suddenly found himself wondering when the right time would be. Should he simply kiss her as though no time had passed at all? Or would it be better to make it an affair? It didn't seem right to ignore the fact that it had been over two centuries since they'd last felt the gentle caress of their lovers' lips.

Too many possibilities and decisions weighed upon him, prompting him to cast them aside and ease his head closer to hers. Gently touching her forehead with his, he breathed in her natural scent; delighting in the familiarity it brought to him. She smelled of the earth and another smell that was distinctly Katrina. He had no word to describe the smell that was hers and hers alone. The best he could come to was that she smelled like the air just before a spring rain. It was daring and exciting; giving the sense that the world was about to change.

As he relaxed into the sheets, he wrapped his finger in a loose thread hanging from the shirt he'd loaned her the night before; his last thoughts lingering with her.

Next up: A morning spent together. Exploring a bit of modern technology. Confrontations and doubts over a magical baby.