In the middle of the night, around 3:00 am, Ichabod was having trouble sleeping. He was known for having nightmares. He had been having them since he was a little kid. Most of the nightmares he had, they were about his mother and father. His mother was a witch, but not the kind of witch that flies on a broom and has a warty nose. No, nothing like that at all. She was a kind and loving witch, with a heart made out of pure gold. Well, not literal gold, but you know what I mean. She would never hurt any living creature, not even a snake or a spider.

She had long brown hair, that was as brown as chocolate, with brown eyes and pale skin. She had a nice figure, slim and thin, and she was pretty tall. Her smile could brighten anyone's day and the way her eyes sparkled with love and kindness, it could make anyone's heart melt.

Now, on the other hand, his father wasn't the nicest man. In fact, some could argue he was the meanest and most cruel man that ever roamed the earth. He was a priest in a church, and he believed that witches were whores of the devil who tried to corrupt and manipulate the minds of God fearing people. So whenever he caught Ichabod's mother trying to calm him down when he couldn't sleep, or whenever she drew markings in the dirt, he would get absolutely furious. He would abuse her mentally, physically, emotionally and would tell her that this was God's way of punishing her. One day, it got so bad, that he had enough. To put it bluntly, he had a dungeon, filled with various contraptions that no human should ever be put in. He decided to lock her in an iron maiden, piercing her flesh and heart, just leaving her to rot there as long as he lived. 

So, back to Ichabod not being able to sleep. The nightmare he was having, it wasn't about his parents. No, it was actually about something different... There was a bead of sweat across his forehead, his eyebrows furrowed and small whimpers escaping his throat. His hands were gripping the covers so tight, his knuckles turned white. Serena was having trouble sleeping as well, so she walked downstairs to get a glass of water, when she heard Ichabod whimpering in his sleep. With her candle in hand, she grabbed a rag and a bowl of water before quietly rushing over to him, kneeling down beside him. She set the candle down and As carefully as she could, she dipped the rag in the bowl of water before gently dabbing it against his forehead. 

And that caused him to wake up with a gasp. His eyes snapped open as he jolted, which made Serena flinch just a little bit. Her eyes shone with concern as her other hand gently rested on his shoulder. 

"Ssh, Ssh, it's just me. I heard you whimpering and saw you sweating so I wanted to help... were you having a nightmare?" She asked softly, so as not to startle him even more. As she dabbed his forehead, she looked at his wound, which she noticed was starting to heal. That filled her heart with a little bit of relief, but right now, she was more concerned about his well being. 

Ichabod just laid there, his hands still clutching the sheets. Despite him still being freaked the fuck out, Serena's presence and her touch, it did help him calm down a little bit. He nodded his head, unsure of what to say at the moment. She cleaned the sweat from his forehead before setting the rag and bowl of water down beside her. She kept her other hand on his shoulder, letting him know that she was there for him.

"Do you... do you want to talk about it? If you don't want to, I understand." She said soothingly as her thumb gently rubbed his shoulder in comfort. She kept looking from his eyes, to the wound on his temple, then back to his eyes. She bit her bottom lip, her heart beginning to race. There was something she wanted to tell him, but she was scared that he would get upset. No, now wasn't the time. Right now, she was focused on making sure that he was okay. 

Ichabod swallowed a lump in his throat before beginning to speak. "When I came back to New York after solving the first case here, I was with this woman and this boy. I fell in love with her immediately and the boy, we thought of him as our son. I thought we were going to be together forever. But out of nowhere, the boy, his name was Masbeth. Shortly after arriving back home, H-he ended up getting really sick.. I-I mean really sick. W-within a week, he ended up passing away. And the girl I fell in love with..." His eyes began to water as he spoke and it broke Serena's heart. 

"What happened?" She asked softly and she noticed a couple tears fall down his cheeks. Ichabod felt really embarrassed for crying in front of her, especially since he had just met her. But he was still so heartbroken over what happened. 

"She ended up leaving... S-she said she couldn't handle the heartache over Masbeth's passing..." His voice trailed off as more tears fell down his cheeks. Yup, at that moment, Serena's heart absolutely shattered. Not only did a boy he considered his son pass away, but the woman that he absolutely loved and adored, abandoned him. How could someone do that?!

"Oh god Ichabod... I am so so sorry that happened to you..." She said as her own eyes began to water. Ichabod saw this and he quickly wiped away his tears before sitting himself up on his elbow. 

"Why are you crying Serena? This isn't your fault..." Serena sniffled as she looked down, unable to stop the few tears that fell down her cheeks. See, Ichabod and Serena, they weren't so different. They were alike in some ways and Serena, well she could relate to his pain. She shook her head as she closed her eyes. 

"I know, its just that... N-no, I should be comforting you right now..." Now Ichabod was the one feeling concerned and he leaned forward, placing a hand on her shoulder in reassurance. 

"And now you got me wanting to comfort you, Serena. Why don't you sit next to me and tell me? We can comfort each other together." Serena opened her eyes and looked at him, letting out a soft sigh before standing up, taking the candle in her hands and he sat up, moving over slightly so she had room to sit next to him. The bed was just big enough for the both of them, but they would somehow manage. He hugged his knees to his chest as he looked at her, watching her take a deep breath before slowly letting it out. She glanced up the stairs, thankful that Silver was still sleeping in her room. She was a heave sleeper so she wouldn't be bugging them unless one of them screamed bloody murder.

"Okay, two things... the first... promise me you won't freak out?" She asked and he gave a nod. Even though they didn't really know each other, he felt like he could trust her. Actually he already trusted her more than he thought he would. 

"I promise you, I won't freak out." He reassured her and she nodded in return before looking at the candle in her hands. She held the candle in front of her, waved her hand and all of a sudden, the candle floated in the air. She then waved both hands and the candle floated away from them, then stayed so the flame would still illuminate their faces. Ichabod's eyes were wide in surprise but he didn't freak out. Sure, he had never seen anything like this, but it intrigued him. 

"How did you... do that? Are you some sort of witch?" He asked and she looked down, giving a small nod with a sad sigh.

"That's exactly right, Ichabod. I am a witch, and I was born with these powers. I first discovered my powers when I was about 6 years old. I was absolutely terrified and I felt like I was a monster. I didn't want to say anything to you because I was afraid of scaring you..." She said as her eyes watered, biting her bottom lip. She shook her head as she ran a hand through her hair. Without even thinking, Ichabod wrapped an arm around her shoulders, stroking it with his thumb. 

"You are not a monster, Serena. Far from it, in fact. The woman I was in love with, the one who left me, she was a witch too. I mean she didn't really have powers like you do. She was more of a spell kind of witch... but there is nothing to be ashamed of. It's a part of who you are and you should embrace it. Now, what was the other thing you wanted to tell me?" 

She looked at him with a teary eyed grin, shaking her head before pulling her knees to her chest. "Oh that... I, uh, I can relate to you. You know, with the whole falling in love with somebody and then out of nowhere, they desert you. I was in love with a man and I thought we would get married and have children. To put it in simple terms, when I told him I was a witch, he called me a monster and told me he could never marry somebody like me. He abandoned me and left me absolutely destroyed. He hurt me, Ichabod, he absolutely hurt me." She couldn't stop the tears falling from her eyes, and it made Ichabod's heart shatter even more. Yeah, they weren't so different after all. 

He moved his hand from her shoulder to her back and began rubbing it in circles. She didn't even hesitate resting her head against his shoulder as she silently cried, her eyes closed and her bottom lip quivering. He looked down at her with sadness and sympathy in his eyes, and he honestly didn't mind her against his shoulder. In the back of his head, he wished he could still be with Katrina. But now, having Serena next to him, he was starting to realize that she just wasn't the one for him and vice versa. And he started having these feelings for Serena, that he thought he would never be able to have for a woman again. He knew that it was happening very fast so right now was not the time to say anything about it. 

"Listen to me, you are not a monster. And what that man said to you, how he treated you, was absolutely wrong and uncalled for. You loved him and he left you. You deserve to be with someone that will love you for who you are, that will treat you with respect, kindness, adoration, and love. And I have a strong feeling you will find someone who will give you all of those things." 

She looked up at him with her head still against his shoulder, her eyes red and puffy from crying. She couldn't help but grin as she sniffled, sighing quietly to herself. She glanced at the wound on his temple and thought for a moment. This is something she should have done the moment she saved him. Serena brought her hand up, hovering it just inches away from the wound and there was a bright light emitting from her hand. Within 20 seconds, the wound vanished and he was all healed. When the light started fading away, she slowly removed her hand, their eyes never breaking contact. 

"Y-you're... you're all healed now..." She whispered and he felt the corner of his lips twitch into a sweet grin, while his hand gently grabbed hers and squeezed it. 

"Thank you, Serena. Now I can get back on the case once the sun rises." He said a little teasingly and she let out a small chuckle before getting up from the bed, grabbing the floating candle. She hesitated a moment before leaning forward and placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. 

"Get some sleep, Ichabod. I'll be upstairs if you need anything." She said before turning on her heel and she made her way upstairs. When she reached the top of the stairs, she glanced over the railing, feeling a little relieved now that he knew she was a witch. She made her way to her room, and walked over to her bed, setting the candle on the nightstand before blowing out the flame. She crawled in bed, curling up in a ball and glancing out the window, thinking about everything that just happened. She then looked at Silver, who was sleeping on the other side of the bed, and she reached over, gently running her fingers through her fur. 

"My sweet girl..." She whispered and it wasn't long before sleep overtook her. And the same thing was said for Ichabod. For once in his life, he had no trouble falling back asleep, continuing to dream about the kind and loving witch named Serena. 

Hey guys! I am so sorry if this is moving a little fast, but I just love love! I have a few ideas in mind for this story and I am really excited to share this with all of you! Sleepy Hollow is one of my absolute favorite movies and I love Ichabod and Katrina. However, I wanted to mix things up a little bit and come up with my own love story. This was only chapter 4 and I may or may not have an idea of who the "heart snatcher" is! Also, if you guys have seen the TV show, Once upon a time, there might be a reference from the show. I do not own any characters, or anything affiliated with Sleepy Hollow, except for my own character, and I do not own anything from Once upon a time. One more thing, I SUCK AT COMING UP WITH CHAPTER TITLES SO JUST BARE WITH ME LOL