Because of Him

[katleept]

She kneels beside the grave in the cool, evening air. Another night will soon be starting. She once loved the evening patrol in Sleepy Hollow, but in just the last few days, she's come to dread them like a soldier about to leave for war. This has also become her evening ritual, her way of always remembering a dear friend and letting him know the war continues without him.

She knows he can see her, from wherever he's resting now, but still, she comes. She comes with a fresh flower every day and a hand on his tombstone. She comes and etches the letters that make his name, a name she will never forget. She comes and whispers, "I'm sorry," again and tells him about her previous patrol. She comes seeking some sort of forgiveness that she knows he can not give.

She wonders, if he could speak, what he would say. Would he forgive her for not believing him when he was the only one to ever believe her and her sister? Would he understand why she didn't want to accept the nightmarish, Supernatural beings running rampant in this town, even after she saw the Headless Horseman who killed him? Would he understand her fear? Would he console her? Would he tell her she's doing the right thing?

She likes to think he would do all of those things, but there's only one thing she knows for certain. Abbie knows August would confirm for her, if only he could speak once more, that she is doing the right thing. She's read his files. She knows Ichabod is right: She is following in his footsteps. She is picking up the war where he was forced to leave off, and she's doing it all, in a way, because of him.

If Corbin had not believed her, Abbie knows she probably would have ended up like her sister, or worse. Every one else thought they were crazy, but he didn't. He believed in her when she felt like she had nothing left. He believed in her when the entire world, including her parents, thought she was crazy. He believed in her and told her she wasn't nuts when they made her try to think she was.

He believed in her. He was her father when her father no longer wished to be her dad. He was her best friend when she had no other friends. He gave her strength when she'd thought she could no longer be strong, and because of him, she lives now. Because of him, she's a cop, and because of him, she has the strength to face these nightmares come to life.

But because of her, he no longer lives. Because she wasn't there for him in time, he was killed. Because she didn't believe him, or wouldn't believe him more aptly, he died without ever speaking the full truth to her. Because she's the one who apparently has been chosen as the Second Witness to fight these evils along with Ichabod, he had to die. At least, that's what Ichabod told her, and as much as she wishes he was wrong, the man has been proved to be right on crazy things too many times for her to doubt his judgement on this one.

She stands as she feels his approach and darkness settles in around them. He doesn't speak. He doesn't have to. They both know the Headless Horseman will ride again tonight.

Abbie reaches out and touches Corbin's gravestone one more time. He was more than her friend and mentor, more than her rescuer. He was her hero, and when he needed one the most, she failed him. She won't fail again. Because of him, she lives. Because of him, she has the strength to do what needs to be done, and because of him, she will find a way to stop the Headless Horseman and all the other beings that want to rear up out of Hell.

"Good night, Corbin," she whispers, then turns and walks away with Ichabod. Ichabod pauses at the cemetery gates, turns back, and looks strange. She doesn't question him. She's grown accustomed to his strange looks. She knows he sees things that she often doesn't, and after that Demon in the mirror, she really doesn't want to see them if she doesn't need to.

Ichabod turns back after a moment, and they walk on to her patrol car. The hairs on his arms are still standing on end, but neither of them know they're being followed. The ghost steps from the cemetery and trails after them. Abbie won't fail him, but Corbin won't fail her again, either. He's still there for her, even if she doesn't know it, if she's not ready to know it, and one day, when she is ready to know it and when she needs him the most, he'll still be there, fighting beside her and looking after her forever.

The End