A New Normal, Judah and Abigail

[Abigail Petersen]

It should be impossible to be this happy, Abigail mused to herself as she went through her day. Christmas had been... well it had simply been the best day she had ever had in as long as she could remember. Judah had been absolutely wonderful. The day had been perfect. She blushed as she thought about spending Christmas Eve there with him.

They had slept beneath the quilt she had made him, his arms wrapped around hers, nearly scorching her with his heat. She never knew that it would be so warm to sleep in proximity to another person. She had so much yet to learn. She sighed at the thought, she was so inept compared to him; so out of her league. She wondered more often than not what he was doing with her.

But he had given her such wonderful books. Priceless first editions that were far too much. She had tried to refuse them, but he would not hear of it. She blushed again as one of her fellow nurses called her out, mentioning that she had looked awfully happy lately. She only smiled in return, grabbing her charts and moving off to the next patient. She pushed Judah resolutely out of her head, needing to focus on all the patients she had ahead of her.

Tonight she would go home. She knew that Judah would have preferred her staying there with him but... she needed a little bit of time to her thoughts and frankly, she was not sure what all this was leading to. She was getting far too attached to Judah and Jake and staying there all the time felt too much like a family. It was her greatest desire and because of that she had to stay away from it. She did not want to read more into this than there was. So she had to limit it for her own sake, even though she knew she was too far gone at this point for it to matter. If the end came, she would be shattered either way.

She smiled brightly as she addressed her four year old patient and got on with the rest of her day.

[Judah Abdel]

Judah and Jacob had walked Abigail to 'the office' as it were, this morning before he'd dropped his son off with Bayleigh at the shop, smiling quietly when their now-toddling son had bounced himself up and down in excitement, calling out 'hey! mama! hey!' over and over. Once that was done, he went back to his apartment to make himself a grocery list. He toed off his shoes before moving toward the kitchen, his only goal to kill enough time until it was time to go meet his Gail to walk her home.

Judah stopped in front of his fridge, a sentimental half smile coming over his face when he saw that she had already started a list for him. He found that most of the work was done for him; he only needed to add a few little odds and ends that were more treats than basics. With that chore all but done already, he decided to kill a little bit of time with a book before he needed to go to the store. Even as he flipped through his book, trying to find the place he'd left off the night before, he couldn't help but wonder whether or not he'd be able to convince Gail to join him for his shopping trip when she called him at lunch time.

Before long, he was utterly lost in the story he was all but devouring, and jumped slightly when the phone rang from the table next to him. "Hey, pretty lady." He answered, trying like hell to sound casual. "Are you doing anything important after work? I thought maybe you'd like to do some mundane chores with me on my way to walking you home?" He suggested, though his hopes were quickly dashed when she explained that once she was done with her normal shift at the pediatrician's office, she would be heading over to the hospital to cover a shift that someone had called in for in the Children's Ward. Now, the only argument they could have was whether or not she'd give him trouble about wanting to walk her home after that shift. "It's going to be late, and you know I worry about you wandering around late at night in the city all alone." He murmured, wondering if this would work; if she'd give in and let him walk her home.

[Abigail Petersen]

She had replayed the conversation with Judah over and over. She called him on her break, not able to take a whole shift without hearing from him. And besides she was wondering how he would react to her sort of keeping house- given that it was not her house. She smiled at the way he answered and then asked her if she wanted to do some chores with him on the way home.

She sighed at the thought of the disappointment in his voice when she had to tell him that she had to go to the hospital as soon as she left the office. It was only a minor hardship truly, she loved those children and she would not give them up for the world. She explained why she had to do it tonight and apologized.

Then he asked her if he could walk her home after that and she smiled at the remembrance of the concern in his voice. She had told him that she would be fine, that she had done this so many times, and besides, it would not do to have Jake up and out this late. She certainly was not going to interrupt that just so that Judah could walk her home. She knew that he did not like it, especially when she had to go and told him that she would send him a message when she got home and then she would call him in the morning.

As she was washing up from her shift, she felt slightly awful about the way he sounded when she turned him down. It was not that she did not want him around, she did. And that was the problem. All of this would soon implode in her face she was certain of it. She needed a little distance. She grabbed her bag and clocked out, putting the charts back on the nurse's desk as she walked to the elevator that would lead her to the main floor. She said her goodbyes and stepped out into the night, the brisk air causing her to wrap her bright yellow scarf more securely around her as she started for home.

[Judah Abdel]

Judah waited until he received the brief text from Abi letting him know that she was officially off the clock. That she'd be home in less than a half hour and she'd call him when she got there. That was good, he acknowledged, but not good enough. He had to be certain that his love was safe on her trip home. He was more than a little familiar with the things that could go bump in the night around here, and he didn't mean to let them get their hands on his Abigail. He left his apartment in a hurry, moving the half-dozen blocks to the hospital where Abi was working that night to wait for her to come out. Still, he knew that she valued the fact that she was self reliant, and likely wouldn't love the idea that he'd come out even after she'd asked him to let it be for now. Instead, he'd hang back and just sort of follow her; make sure she got home safely, he reasoned with himself. 'Stalker much?' he couldn't help but think with a wry smile. He looked up sharply when he caught her scent on the breeze and moved off slowly behind her, keeping her within his line of sight but far enough back that she wouldn't notice that she was being followed.

As he wandered through the late evening hours, he couldn't help but marvel at just how far they had come in such a short period of time. He knew what he wanted; had known practically since he'd met her, but that didn't mean she was ready for the turn he wanted to take here. More than anything, Judah wanted to give her the ring he'd kept hidden in his dresser drawer, sure that she'd claim it was far too soon.

Surely, she was right. He got distracted as she neared a busy intersection. There was an Asian woman shouting at a man from a small corner store, and he couldn't help but look over, concerned about what might be going on. When he looked back, Abi was gone from his line of sight. Suddenly he was more than a little bit anxious to find his girl; even if just to reassure himself that she was safe. Finally, his keen eyes caught a glimpse of bright yellow that must be his girl's scarf, but it was headed in the wrong direction; toward the park. That was curious. Judah began to run, stopped abruptly by traffic where he stood cooling his heels and cursing in his head before he could dart off after her once more, and pray to anyone that would listen that this would all be fine.

[Abigail Petersen]

Abigail should have been paying attention to the world around her, but her mind was wandering. The nighttime was one of her favorite times to be walking home because she had time to just ponder through all the stuff she had going on. Usually she did not have quite this much on her mind, but life had become infinitely more complicated with Judah involved. How she loved him.

She sighed, and then smiled at her own silliness. She could have worse problems. She was very blessed honestly. As she made her way through the city and was just about to make the turn to go to her apartment, an arm touched her elbow and she yelped and whirled around. Her eyes bugged out at the sight of this entirely beautiful man. There was no other way to put it, his features were that of a sculpture, so perfect did he seem.

"Excuse me," she said, certain he had simply mistaken her for someone else from the back and she moved to duck his arm and continue on her way. He smiled a charming smile and she almost breathed a sigh of relief, because she must be right. But then the hand clamped down on her arm and he instructed her to walk where he told her, his voice dripping ice as he told her that she needed to smile doing it.

He steered her toward the park and it was all she could do to put one foot in front of the other. From an outsider's point of view they probably looked like a couple, practically arm and arm as they strolled toward the park. Inside Abigail was shaking. How could she get away before they made it into the darkness of the trees?

A copper taste was in her mouth, sheer fear as he tugged her into the park and she knew that this would not end well for her. All she could think of was Judah, and her love for him. "What do you want from me?", she asked the male. "You can have my purse, here take it," she said as she thrust it at him, attempting to keep the tremor from her voice.

[Judah Abdel]

Judah hurried through the night, trying like hell to move at a normal pace. The last thing he needed was to draw attention to himself right now. When the wind shifted and he caught the sickly sweet smell that was flowing over him, he growled low in his throat, rushing as fast as he could once he'd reached the coverage of the trees. He got closer to where they were, trying like hell to be as quiet as possible so as not to alert this ruthless bloodsucker that he was coming. He could hear Abigail trying to bargain for her freedom; telling the blood sucker that he could have her purse; all but thrusting it at him as he continued to drag her deeper into the park.

Judah snuck up behind a row of hedges, just waiting for the right moment to rescue her, suddenly afraid that she might get hurt in this little fight that he was expecting. From his spot behind the hedges, he hastily stripped off his clothes as he continued to watch the scene happening in front of him, internally screaming at her to be still; anything to make separating them easier.

Apparently she was reading his mind though, because in that instant, Abigail jerked her arm away from this enthralling man and began to all-out run back the way she came. When she darted past the row of hedges he saw his chance and sprang from the far side of the bushes, shifting as he went, anxious to know without a doubt that this filthy bloodsucker wouldn't be bothering anyone, but especially his girl, anymore. As he threw himself forward, Judah not only saw the bloodsucker spin around at the ferocious growl that came from the back of his throat, but he also saw Abi stumble, crying out as she went. Once again, he could only wing up a prayer that he would get her out of this safely.

[Abigail Petersen]

Abigail was terrified, there was no other way to describe the sheer force of what was pumping through her. And yet it was odd the way she kept wondering how someone so perfect looking could suddenly seem so menacing despite the fact that the composed charming smile had never left his face.

A twig or something snapping took his attention for just a moment, but a moment was all she needed. She tore her arm free, knowing she would be brused from his hold but not caring about anything but getting away. She did not get very far. It was dark and she could not see so well and her foot landed in a hole. She kept going and her foot did not. A sharp pain shot up her ankle and she crumped to the ground, sure that the man was right on her heels.

She cowered, waiting for the attack that was sure to come, but when it did not, she struggled to rise, thinking that she could still get away but when she turned to push herself up off of the groudnt he sight before her had her eyes nearly popping out of her head.

There ahead, where she had been moments earlier was the man, locked in some kind of fight with.. see, she was a nurse and she knew the signs of shock. There was no way a gigantic wolf would be here in the park doing battle with a would be attacker. It simply was not possible. It certainly was not possible that such a beast existed, or that the man was even standing a chance against it.

"Oh my," she whispered as she tried to get on her feet. She crumpled to the ground again as more pain shot up her leg. Her night had just gone from bad to worse because if the man did not get to her, the giant beast certainly would. Or, more apt that the shock would finally claim her and she would pass out and be blissfully unaware of her fate. She winged up a prayer to a God she had not been in touch with in a while, for her life, for a lot of things. But she could not help but watch in part horror, part awe at the display before her, certain that this was all a product of stress.

[Judah Abdel]

Judah knew that Abigail had gone running; had seen her fall, but for the life of him he couldn't be bothered with that just now. Right now, the only thing that was important here was keeping his woman safe. This bloodsucker had threatened her safety, which meant he had threatened his very existence, and for that he must pay. With that sole thought bouncing around in his head, he threw himself into this viscous battle. For long moments he clawed and snarled, trying like hell to get his teeth around this useless leech's throat, all the while trying like hell not to think about the fact that this could just as easily have been his sister that he was battling with to the death.

Time after time, he threw himself at the ferocious vampire, ripping and tearing and enduring some painful shots himself in this battle to save the woman he loved; not to mention all the other innocents that this bastard would kill if he wasn't stopped. He arched his back, throwing the vampire too the ground, but he wasn't quick enough to rip out the man's throat before he was back on his feet, sweeping a leg that took Judah right off of his feet....or paws, as the case may be. Fueled by rage and fear though, he was more dangerous this way, and he refused to let his Abi down.

With that thought in mind, Judah threw himself ruthlessly onto the bloodsucker once more, tearing and ripping at that stone-like flesh until the body was no longer moving, and still, he kept up for long moments after that, more than a little afraid to let his guard down; even now. Once he'd beheaded the bastard, he was off, the bastard's head in his teeth as he charged off, careful to stick to the shadows as he searched out a dumpster or two to leave the pieces scattered between.

[Abigail Petersen]

Abigail knew that she had to get out of the way. She was under no illusions that she was going to make it out of this. She would try to call Judah, to say goodbye, or... something, she had to let him know. She managed to drag herself under the cover of some bushes. She could only hope that maybe the man and the wolf would somehow tire each other out and forget about her in the heat of the battle. That was the only situation in which Abigail would come out of this... at all.

She pulled out her phone, sobbing quietly when Judah's phone went to voicemail and she left him a stammering message, telling him that she loved him so very much and that he could find her in the park if.... She tucked the phone back in her bag and prayed. When she opened her eyes it was to see the giant wolf ripping limbs from the man. She stuffed her fist in her mouth to stifle the scream as she watched in horror.

She felt like she would be sick when the creature ripped the man's head clean off. The nurse in her briefly noticed the lack of blood but she was so busy being horrified that she simply could not analyze that right now. When the wolf moved off with the pieces between its teeth, she thought maybe she had managed to come out of this unscathed.

And yet she was too afraid to move. She sat there in the dirt and the leaves shaking, her teeth nearly chattering from both shock and fear, her leg throbbing. She needed help, but who could she call, she could only pray that Judah would get her message and come find her. She did not know how long she should stay here but after a few agonizing moments she shuffled herself out of the bushes, only to freeze up all over again.

[Judah Abdel]

Finally, the deed was done, and once he'd finally finished dealing with this little problem and tuned back into the park around him, Judah could hear Abigail's breathing. She was gasping and crying and struggling like hell to keep it together. That she needed help was obvious...to get his clothes from the far side of the grouping of bushes she was crouched under and get to her without her seeing or realizing him that it was him was the big problem here. If nothing else, he knew that he had to try, at least.

He quietly stepped toward the bushes, trying to stay unnoticed here while the love of his life sat cowering on the other side. He was just moving off to the left when suddenly there, in front of him was Abigail; frozen in place, her eyes owlishly wide and locked with his. There was nothing he could do but freeze himself, completely unsure of what to do now. He could not take off; could not leave his wallet and cell phone and clothes and everything there in the park. He also could not afford to go tearing ass through the city like this. Certainly, a gigantic fucking wolf would draw some attention from the people on the streets...never mind that he couldn't leave his Abigail here; alone, hurt and scared to fend for herself. While he went over his options in his head, he was failing to notice the fact that Gail was studying him intently, though she didn't move in the least; barely breathing as she held her place, obviously afraid for her own life....too afraid to move.

When he started paying attention again, Judah did the only thing he could do, he jumped forward and to the side; just close enough to completely freeze his Abigail once more, darting around her to the place where he'd left his bundle of clothes, snatching them up with his mouth before darting off, further into the park, his eyes darting around, trying to find a place where he could shift back to his normal self and get dressed again without being seen. Thankfully, he found one reasonably close by, and he hurried to dress, then flat out ran back to where he'd just scared the wits out of the love of his life.

"Gail! Oh, God! Honey. Oh, thank God." He breathed out, all but skidding to a stop in front of her, his arms snaking out to pull the trembling woman into him, her head falling limply against his chest once he had her in his arms."Are you okay, honey?" He asked seriously, holding her away from him to take stock; to see how badly she was hurt. Swiftly, he pulled her back in when she began to cry silently, and she moved with him; pliant as a rag doll, stroking a hand over her hair as he just held her close murmuring over and over that everything was okay now.

[Abigail Petersen]

Abigail tried not to breath, or even twitch. She was THIS close to that gigantic beast who only moments before was ripping that man to shreds. What if he wanted to rip her to shreds. Oh... she should have stayed where she was. She could not move, her eyes locked on the eyes of the creature and that was when she knew that she was losing it, and fast. The fur was the same shade as Judah's shaggy hair. The eyes reminded her of.. but that was silly. She was going to die and so of course she was thinking of Judah.

She braced herself for the end, and when the beast jumped forward she let out a gasp and squeezed her eyes tightly shut, waiting for the attack. After a long moment when it did not come she opened her eyes... the beast was gone. She sagged and let the tears flow, not certain she could take anything else tonight. She clutched her cell phone tightly, thinking that perhaps she could make it out into the street, find help. Find help.. she kept saying in her head, though no one would believe her tale this night.

As if her thoughts had conjured him, she heard the one voice that could cut through the fog and then he was there, really there. Judah was pulling her close, clearly worried for her and she sagged against him, unable to try and fight anymore. She sighed, the tears wetting his shirt and then he held her back to look at her. She could not find the words to speak just yet though so she cried like a baby as he stroked his big warm hand over her hair, holding her close and safe.

Finally when she sniffled and lifted her head, certain she looked a mess she said finally, "You got my message." It was a statement of fact and then she wrapped her arms around her as tightly as she could manage. "I was so afraid Judah, so afraid," she breathed out, wondering if he would even believe her if she told him what had happened. She was not entirely sure that she believed herself. How much of that had been real? How much was shock? "You came," she breathed out against him, the tears flowing again.

Finally she looked up at him and she realized that she would never be able to rest if she went back to her house. Coupled with the fact that she was not entirely sure what she had done to her leg, she was not sure where she was supposed to go. She must look confused and bewildered, which she supposed would fit because that was exactly how she felt. "I..." she started to say, but because she had nothing, she merely sagged against him in a dead faint, the night and the shock and the pain finally catching up with her.

[Judah Abdel]

Abigail finally finished crying, for the moment at least, and murmured between sniffles that he'd gotten her message before throwing her arms around him as tightly as she could. She continued on between gasping sobs about how she'd been so afraid, before saying once more that he'd come for her, her tone more than a little amazed, even as her sobs grew louder once more. It took a few more long moments, but finally she seemed to have gotten herself under control. Or, at least mostly.

She pulled back slightly to stare up into his face, confusion and horror and pain all mixed together there in her eyes. She started to speak; to say something, but before she could get any further Abigail's eyes rolled back into her head and she slumped forward; sagging against him in a dead faint. "Oh, shit." Judah muttered, even as he was lifting her into his arms and hurrying through the park toward his building. He made quick work of the trip, hurrying into the building without even a word to the doorman as he rushed to get her upstairs.

Judah moved carefully into his apartment, settling Abigail carefully on his bed. Being careful not to disturb her. He got her jacket off, and moved to her feet, slipping off her flat nurses shoes one at a time, and wincing silently when he saw how swollen her right ankle was. That was going to be a problem, he thought to himself, even as he was moving to the closet to retrieve a spare pillow to prop up her foot. Once that was taken care of, he moved off for some ice, returning to turn off the overhead light and settle himself onto the bed next to her, switching on the television while he waited for her to wake up.

[Abigail Petersen]

The night was thick and heavy, the bushes pressing in around her as she struggled to keep quiet, to keep any attention off ofher as the man and the beast battled it out. As limbs began to rip off before her eyes, Abigail let out a startled cry, darting straight up as her eyes popped open and she prepared for flight.

Judah was at her side in an instant and she did not calm down until she saw those eyes looking at her intently. Those eyes... She shook her head to clear it and then finally focused on where she was. She was here with Judah, on his bed, her leg propped up and looking quite frightful if she did say so. She moaned a little as she shifted her leg, trying to move.

She did not have to say a word, Judah was with her, rubbing her back as she calmed down. "I am sorry," she apologized as she finally stopped shaking. "I had a.. well a nightmare I suppose," she told him thoughtfully. "I did not mean to cry out that way." She took a deep breath and asked him if she could have some water. Her throat burned- likely from crying.

When he moved to do just that she sagged against the pillows. It had been so real. Now she was not entirely sure what was real and what was a product of her fear. And what was she to say about it? By the way Judah, I was attacked in the park by a man- the only part she was certain happened. And then a large wolf with eyes that looked like yours came and ripped him to pieces right in front of me and then ran at me and disappeared. Yes, Abigail... that would go over perfectly.

When he brought her the water she took a long sip and then leaned back again. "I am so sorry," she said again. "I did not mean to ruin your evening and make you come all the way out there but I was so scared and... my ankle.. and.." she trailed off with a deep intake of breath, knowing that she could not possibly continue considering she was pretty certain she had been hallucinating

[Judah Abdel]

Abigail woke with a start, crying out even as she sat bolt upright in bed, and in an instant he was switching on the light beside the bed and settling himself down with her on the bed. He said nothing when she tried to flex her ankle, moaning in pain in the process. She apologized, telling him unnecessarily that she'd had a nightmare, and that she hadn't meant to cry out. She asked for a glass of water, and he could tell from the sound of her voice that her throat was sore.

Judah moved quickly to the kitchen, returning with a tall glass of very cold water for her, handing it to her before settling himself down next to her once more while he waited for her to finish drinking and speak to him once more. When that happened though, he found himself slightly annoyed at her words. She apologized again, noting that she hadn't meant to ruin his evening or make him come out; in fact, that was what he'd been trying to avoid. She rambled some more before trailing off to take in another deep, gasping breath, and he could tell that what she'd seen tonight had shaken his woman to her very core. He could only imagine just how much worse it would be when she realized that he was the monster who'd terrified her.

Still; he wasn't quite ready for that.

"What happened tonight, Abi? How did you wind up in the park?" Judah asked, even as his arms wrapped securely around her, even as he settled them back against the pillows once more. "More importantly though, how's your ankle feeling? We should switch from ice to heat soon, probably." He murmured absently, remembering his mothers instructions from every time he'd ever gotten hurt. "Can I get you anything? Some aspirin, or maybe a cup of tea or something to eat?" He wondered, pushing her hair carefully back behind her ears as he studied her carefully.

[Abigail Petersen]

Abigail was absolutely certain of only one thing, that she was completely insane. She had to be. There was no way in any kind of reality that she had seen what she thought she had. So when Judah asked her what had happened tonight, following that question up with asking her how she had ended up in the park, she blushed furiously and looked down at her lap as she wrung her hands.

"I- I am not sure," she said honestly, knowing there was no way she could tell him what she thought she had seen. He would think her insane, or make her go to the hospital and get checked out, and she simply could not bear to see her colleagues in this state. She was sure about how she had managed to find herself in the park- it was the rest of it that had her fuzzy.

"I was walking home from work, as planned," she started quietly. And then there was this man, and he kind of bumped into me," she said in a wondering voice. "Or at least that is what I assumed, but then he grabbed my arm," she croaked out, her voice fading to a terrified whisper as she relived that moment. "I tried Judah, I promise I tried... I tried to get him to take my purse, to leave me alone, but he would not. He made me walk to the park, and he told me to smile while I did so." She wrapped her arms around herself as if to ward off a chill.

"I was so frightened that his hand felt like it was made of ice on my skin. And then a noise startled him and I tried to run away. But something happened and I fell, and I tried to get up but my ankle hurt so badly. I tried to call you.." she trailed off. She did not know what to say after that. Surely it was all a delusion born from pain and fear.

"I was so afraid," she whispered as a lone tear drifted down her cheek.