Abbie and Crane run into a Yeti in Sleepy Hollow. Will this be the thing they need to admit their true feelings to one another? This AU doesn’t fit in any timeline.
“What exactly do you plan on doing with him?” Jenny asked. Joe and Crane both stood upwind of Chuck as Abbie tried to figure out the answer to that question. It's not like she had room in her house for both Crane and Chuck. Not unless she got them bunk beds. Did Chuck even sleep in a bed or did he prefer nest of pine branches? Maybe he'd like a big dog bed. Maybe she and Crane could share a bed...
Abbie wasn't sure where that thought came from but Chuck seemed to sense that she was thinking about her partner in that way. He was at her side instantly and making purring noises. Abbie reached out and patted Chuck without even thinking about it.
“We probably need to feed him. What do you think he eats?” Abbie asked.
“He looks like he would like to take a bite out of one Revolutionary-era soldier to quell his appetite,” Crane muttered from the other side of the porch. The snow was still falling and they were going to have to make some plans for the night and make them quickly. Food and lodging came first.
“All Joe has here is a bottle of whiskey and a couple of boxes of candy canes. Which of those do you want to try?” Jenny said. Abbie told her to get the candy canes and sooner or later, they'd have to go to the grocery store to find something real for Chuck to eat. Or maybe the McDonald's drive-thru. But was he going to want a salad or a cheeseburger? Was Chuck a vegetarian? A vegan? What if he had a problem with gluten? They would just have to find out. It was so much easier when Crane was new. She just had to feed him a few donut holes and get him some arsenic-laced water and he was happy. Or at least he could express his happiness in words she mostly understood.
Jenny returned with a variety of candy canes and handed the boxes to Abbie, explaining that Joe had them for the party the EMTs throw for the local kids they saved over the last few years. Abbie looked through the boxes at all the various flavors. “Can't just have traditional peppermint like the rest of the world? What's this? Jolly Rancher flavored candy canes? Why?” Abbie asked as she pulled the cellophane wrapper off of a box of cherry flavored ones. She and Jenny both took one for themselves and then Abbie brought one to Crane and to Joe. Crane gave her the arched eyebrow look of 'why me?' but Abbie unwrapped his and stuck the one end in his mouth. “We're going to have to show him they're safe and how to eat them.”
She then brought one to Chuck and unwrapped it. She was going to hand it to him but it would be completely covered in fur if she did that. Obviously Chuck didn't eat too much sticky stuff. Abbie placed it into his mouth and he chewed it up and swallowed it immediately. Then she got him another one with the same result. Finally, he finished the box of cherry candy canes and Abbie tried to feed him some Sweet Tarts flavored candy canes. He was having none of that. Crane was still sucking on his cherry candy cane, his lips a darker shade of red now from the coloring, and gave Abbie a shoulder shrug indicating he had no idea what to do with a yeti. They opened all the boxes and he refused all the flavors. This was just perfect. A yeti with candy cane preferences. Abbie swiped the unfinished one from Crane's mouth and tried to offer it to Chuck. He absolutely refused, tossing it to the icy ground.
Chuck then sat down in the snow and whimpered while Abbie tried to figure out some long term solutions to their problem. Food was one thing but this creature obviously didn't belong in Sleepy Hollow.
“How are we going to get him back to Nepal or Tibet or wherever?” Abbie asked Jenny.
“I know some people who experts at smuggling things in and out of that region but maybe we could just take him to the Adirondacks. It's not like you and I are made of money, Abbie,” Jenny said. Abbie realized her sister was right.
“You're right. And with another mouth to feed, I'll even be more strapped for cash...”
“You're... pregnant?” Jenny asked, looking from Abbie to Crane and then back again. Crane gave her a 'don't look at me!' wide-eyed look.
“Not that kind of mouth to feed, Jenny. I meant Chuck,” Abbie said, shaking her head at her sister's notion. “So, we get him to the Adirondacks. That's not happening today so I guess he either sleeps here or at my place and considering I've only made five payments on my house, that's not going to be the answer.”
“I have a yurt. Well, my dad did. We can put it up out back and I'm sure Chuck will be happy with that. It's pretty warm inside if you set it up right. Someone is going to have to stay with him and watch him,” Joe said, nodding at the poor creature still whimpering in the snow. “I have an all night shift and Jenny has to be at the bar soon.”
“He very obviously detests me so I'm not staying alone with him,” Crane pointed out. “I'll stay with you, though, Lieutenant, if you don't want to stay with him alone.”
“Looks like I'll be babysitting both of you then. Guess I better go pick up some Happy Meals,” Abbie said, wondering how she kept getting herself into these things. Purgatory was one thing. A night in an old yurt with Crane and a yeti was another thing entirely.
