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He asked her 'the question' the day before. An army of fear had hectically bum rushed his nerves but his courage fought back when he popped 'the question' one day at a work banquet Abbie had to attend. He had wanted to wait until they were in the privacy of their home but Abbie accidently found the ring he had bought her in is coat pocket. Abbie confronted him holding the small velvet black box in his view. He immediately grabbed her hand and took her outside where they'd have more privacy. His proposal left her speechless. He vowed his eternal love to her. It was as if he was willingly ready to sign a contract agreeing to give her his soul. Abbie wasn't sure if marriage was the best idea knowing they still had five more tribulations to face, if either one of them made it that far. She needed time to think. She saw the disappointment in his eyes when an answer could not be delivered at that time.
Crane had declared his love to Abbie after the second tribulation, which resulted to the development of a higher power through their unbroken bond created from love. It took Abbie awhile to accept the amount of love Crane had fed into her heart. Not once did he take a break showing all that his heart had to give. Abbie cared for him but never thought she'd be in her bed with his naked body by her side enveloping her. Their first kiss took him by surprise. It was a week a later after Pandora had been defeated.
One day Abbie came home from work and found a note written by Ichabod to meet him at the park. She complied to his request and left in a haste. When she had arrived at the park he was waiting for her by a stream that flowed from a man made lake not too far from the outskirts of the woods near the town. She saw him in the distance standing tall and proud looking back at her anxiously. He was holding something behind his back. Abbie strolled down the little mound to meet him. As she approached closer she noticed a picnic basket set on top of a backless white stoned bench positioned twelve feet away from the stream. The sound of the water trickling softly in the still air lulls her spirit in a relaxed tranquil state. She stepped closer to him. His grin grew wider. He swung his left arm from around his back holding a bouquet of pink and red roses. He offered the flowers to her. She kindly accepted his gift. His left foot took an exaggerated step back, opening welcoming arms out gracefully, bowing down in a curtsy.
That was the day he first confessed and declared his love for her. Abbie was touched but also taken aback by his confession. Surprisingly she was the first to lay a kiss upon his lips. It happened on their third private engagement. He'd fixed a lovely dinner consisting of braised beef, roasted vegetables, and a glass of forty five dollar Pinot Noir. When she came home from work, she entered the dining room to sit and unwind, maybe invite Crane to play a game of chess, but instead found herself gaping at how beautifully the table was set. There was a short oval shaped lavender glassed vase filled with an array of white, yellow, and red roses. Two dinner plates were set adjacent from each other accompanied with two half filled stemless wine glasses in front of them. The two white lit candlesticks on the table added a nice ambience in the room with the dim lighting. Ichabod walked past Abbie carrying their entrée on a silver platter. Usually Abbie would have made a fuss about him going to the extremes of showing his gratitude for allowing him to stay with her but that night was different. Their relationship was different. He wanted, no, needed to show her how much she meant to him. How much she deserved to be treated like royalty because she was his queen. How much his heart valued her kindness, her compassion, her patience, her love. As soon as he set the platter on the center of the table, Abbie moved in close to him and laced her fingers in between his. They smiled and stood in silence holding hands, locking eyes on one another, never wanting to break contact. Later that evening, Abbie had kissed Ichabod on his lips good night before she retired to her bedroom. Their first kiss.
At the present time, she lied in his arms, her head resting on his lean but muscular chest. Her eyes closed but not asleep. Not yet. Her round blossomed lips sculpted a content smile feeling satisfied after their long session of love making. Her hand is resting atop his abdomen feeling it rise and fall subtly. Awhile ago, his fingertips were giving her arm soft gentle light strokes, as if he was painting the most delicate flower, while she lied on her side snuggled in his embrace, keeping her body close to his. Feeling his warm skin touching her long frame. Her other arm wedged between their bodies. Her breathing calm and steady. She was at peace. Her voice barely audible when she spoke the words. "To answer your question. Yes, yes I'll marry you. I'm ready to start a whole new life with you Ichabod Crane." the only response she had received on his end was quiet soft breathing. Her body was so relaxed she failed to notice his faint strokes came to a halt. His arm went limp resting along the side of her torso. She opened her eyes and peeked up at his closed ones. His mouth slightly parted exhaling tiny puffs of air through his pink lips.
"Guess my timing is not the best. I don't blame you for falling asleep. I mean we did wear each other out, if you know what I mean.' she said smiling wickedly. "There's always tomorrow. Yeah, I want Jenny to be present when I tell you both the good news. I want her to be a part of this too. I know she'll be excited." She repositioned her head to comfortable rest it atop his shoulder. "Sorry it took me some time to think about it. I had to be sure if it was the right thing to do since we are beginning the third tribulation... but you are important to me. I don't know if their will ever be a right time for matrimony. I figured, why not just do it and stop being a coward and commit to someone you know you love and share a strong bond with. I'm just afraid of losing you. I've lost the ones close to me. The ones I love. I -I- am just afraid of losing you too. I decided to overcome that fear and take a leap of faith. I am ready to take that leap with you.' she said adding more confidence in her tone. 'I know you can't hear a damn thing I'm saying but... come tomorrow I will repeat those same words to you." she peeked up at him again. "Pleasant dreams Ichabod." Her eyes closed to find her own slumber.
The sunlight peeked through her bedroom curtains. Her eyes fluttered opened. The view of Ichabod's neck was in her blurred vision. She lifted her hand off of his chest and rubbed her right eye with her fingers. Wiping out the crud from sleep that was nested in the corner of her eye. She blinked her eyes twice forcing to gain a clearer vision of what she was looking at. He was still asleep. She sat up and reached her outside arm behind her, feeling around for her cell phone on the end table. Her hand skimmed around the base of her table lamp and brushed against a square object. She looked over her shoulder and saw it was indeed her phone. She picked it up and pressed the bottom button to read the time on the home screen. The time displayed eleven thirty. Her eyes widened realizing how late it was. They were suppose to meet Jenny at a café around twelve o clock. Showering was out of the question. They'd only have time to wash up and throw on their clothes. Good thing the café was only ten minutes away.
She nudged Ichabod's shoulder with her hand.
"Crane. wake up." he didn't budge.
She nudged his shoulder a little harder. "Crane. Hey- Crane? Crane, wake up. We have to meet Jenny in half hour. Come on baby wake up." his body kept still.
She nudged him five more times, harder than she liked. She didn't want to hurt him. A smile crept across her face, thinking he was playing around. She chuckled and leaned over him.
She whispered soothingly "Crane, I know you can hear me. I don't have time to play games right now. We gotta meet Jenny. So come on baby. Get up." She gave him a quick peck on his nose, then his cheek, then bit the right side of his lower neck. She lifted her head still showing a playful smile. "Alright Crane, you're taking this too far now. You win, okay. Crane-Crane?" his eyes stayed closed. His lips sealed together. His expression care free. He looked serene, as if he was having the most loveliest dream. Abbie tapped his left cheek a couple of times hoping his eyes would fly open. His eyes still remained closed. Her smile slowly disappeared leaving behind a sullen look. She tapped his cheek one more time. Her lips begin trembling in fear of what she already knows.
"No. baby, please. Wake up. I need you. Don't do this to me Crane. Wake up- you have to wake up." When he does not awake tears flood from her eyes droplet after droplet. She pressed her forehead against his own and continued to keep her eyes shut as she combed her hand through his hair in repeated tender strokes. "Please wake up." her voice quivered through her uncontrolled sobbing.
He was gone. It wasn't fair, Abbie had a hard time accepting his demise. It was hard for her to accept he wouldn't leave this world without a fight. He wouldn't leave her so suddenly. In her mind, she kept telling herself, he was stuck in some sort of sleep coma or maybe just a heavy sleeper. Thinking it would take more than a pat to his cheek or yelling his name a zillion times to bring his eyes to slightly open.
He was gone.
Anger, hurt, pain, and now emptiness resided inside her heart. A part of her soul instantly was stolen. She cupped his face in her hands,closed her eyes, and pressed her lips on top of his, crying silently, heavily, giving her last good bye.
Two hours later, Abbie sat in the waiting room at the Westchester County Hospital. Her eyes stared off in a distance looking lost and sunken. Jenny walked out of the elevator and turned around the corner to find a nurses station. The nurses directed her to the north east wing of the floor where Abbie had been waiting. Jenny approached the waiting room and opened the double doors to find Abbie sitting on a couch looking heavily in thought.
"Abbie?'
Abbie didn't look up at Jenny. "Abbs?" Jenny sat down next to her and rest her hand tentatively on her shoulder.
Abbie turned her head to look at her sister. "The doctor hasn't arrived yet.' was all she could say.
Jenny gave her a remorseful grin with a small circular rub to her back doing her best to console her sister.
"Hopefully it won't be much longer." and sure enough, not too long after Jenny's words, the doctor entered the room holding a clip board in one hand. He was a tall heavy set man, balding, grey curly hair covering the bottom half of his head. He looked to be in his late fifties.
"Miss Mills?" he announced looking around the room at all the visitors.
"Yes," Abbie raised her hand and stood up, along with Jenny.
The doctors eyes connected with hers once she made herself known.
"Ah, Miss Mills. Nice to meet you. I'm Doctor Shaw.'
"Hello Doctor Shaw. This is my sister Jenny." Abbie said gesturing her hand in Jenny's direction. "What did you find out?"
'Yes, first let me ask you, Did Mr. Crane have heart problems?
"No, As far as I know. He never complained about having any heart or chest pain or was diagnosed with heart disease" Abbie said looking confused at the Doctor.
"Hm, interesting. It seems- Mr. Crane's heart stopped working -' he broke out of his professional demeanor for a second looking stumped when his eyes dart down at the document on his clipboard. '-and it says here Mr. Crane is thirty years of age. Hm. Strange. He test results showed he was a perfectly healthy man '' He brought his eyes back up at her looking puzzled. "He must have lived a hard life."
Abbie and Jenny side eyed at each other knowingly.
"It is unheard of a man in his youth to pass away from natural causes. I could see if Mr. Crane was an elderly man." the doctor raised his brows once he observed the way Abbie's face had cringed at his words. Jenny darted her eyes around the room as if she didn't hear the doctors statement. "I am sorry for your lost Miss Mills. If you should have any questions for me, do not hesitate to call my office."
Abbie gave two quick nods staring blankly at the floor. Her hands were tucked inside the back pockets of her jeans. Jenny put her arm around Abbie and pulled her in close to her side.
"I guess his time was up." Abbie said thinking back at the time he told her fate allowed him the grace to live on borrowed time.
Jenny squeezed her shoulder and laid her head on top of hers.
"I never even got the chance to tell him I love him. I was going to marry him Jenny." her eyes began to water. "I miss him so much."
Jenny squeezed Abbie's shoulder again. "I know. So do I."
Five months later, Abbie is sitting in a row boat in the middle of a lake located in the outer banks of the town. She is happily smiling down at her round basketball size belly, rubbing soothing circles around the curve of it's shape. She looked up at the clear sky. The light from the sun reflected a golden shimmer off of the water. Abbie closed her eyes to feel the warm breeze kissing her skin and caressing her hair. She opened her eyes, staring back at the blue sky.
"Hey Crane. How are things in your world? Great I hope. I know it's been some time since I last spoke to you. Sorry about that. Everything has been chaotic here. Fighting demons. Hunting down a vampire who called himself "Yan." I know, I can already hear you ridiculing his name. I'm not surprised Jenny and I ran into one. Anything is possible in Sleepy Hollow.' she laughed. 'Be happy you weren't here to deal with all the craziness that vampire had caused. But.. Jenny and I managed to defeat Yan." She took a breath restraining herself from sounding too emotional. "I miss you so much. Oh!, and -' she peeked down at her belly after she felt the baby kick '-I am no longer alone. In this moment, as we speak. You're daughter is trying to say hello." she said giggling. 'Yes Crane, you're going to be a father. The one and only time we had sex and forgot to take precaution. I'll be honest. I'm scared about bringing a child into this unholy mess we have going on in this town. I just wish you could really be here with me and our daughter. I named her Lily by the way.' She looked back up at the sky once more. "I know you will always be with me right here." she places her left hand over her heart. "I love you Ichabod."