Abe Sapien and the Witch

Chapter 40

They spent the rest of the day cuddling up together on the bed, catching up on lost time. After a while, Abe left to take a quick swim in his tank to refresh himself. Her stomach was beginning to rumble while she waited for him to return. As if summoned by her thoughts, Liz appeared in Abes doorway with some clothes hanging over her arm.

"I wasn't sure what size you might need," she said as she stepped into the room, as usual without knocking and She smiled up at her friend from her current seat at Abes desk. "You are too kind, Liz. Thank you!"

"Not at all! It's just the usual black BP stuff but I found some wider sizes in it, for comfort- until we get a chance to go shopping to buy some nice new things, that is!" she added, laying the clothes down on Abes bed. "How are you holding up?" she asked as she plopped herself down on the duvet, oblivious to the messed-up covers and the pillows that were strewn on the floor.

She sighed, and leaned closer to her friend, holding onto her own elbows subconsciously. "I'm just...relieved to be home. You guys must have looked so hard for me, I just can't thank you enough. I've missed you all so much..." She swallowed back the tears as she felt a painful lump rise in her throat, and Liz was standing, hugging her without needing to hear another word.

"I'm so sorry...I just wish that we could have found you sooner. I can't imagine what you must have been through..." she said, holding her friend close. She noticed how thin her shoulders had become, how fragile she felt in her arms and a dash of pure anger flushed through her.

She took in a deep breath, as the crucifix on her neck turned red hot, then let it out with a careful breath, focusing her energy instead on stroking her friends back to soothe her.

"Thank you, Liz." She heard a soft voice say from the doorway, and there Abe stood with his head cocked to the side. He could feel the energy from the room, could feel Liz's anger as well as her sadness and was especially attuned to his partners comfort at having her friend near.

*****

Abe helped her into her new outfit, which hung off of her shoulders and arms but was more comfortable around her wider stomach. Liz put her own leather jacket around her friends shoulders to bolster her confidence. "Look at you, sexy lady!" she said, and She laughed, her hand finding Abes.

They ended up in the cafeteria, where Johann was sitting at his usual table without any food or drink. They made a beeline towards him, and Abe pulled out a chair for her to sit down on. Liz said her goodbyes as she was meeting Red for lunch in their quarters, so She was left sitting alongside Johann while Abe hurried over to the buffet, wanting to pick out some nice food for her to eat.

"I hope he doesn't bring you any rotten eggs," Johann said, his tone jovial as he patted her arm. She laughed at that, and Johann pretended not to notice her initial flinch from his touch. "Oh, I don't know how he can eat them," she said, putting on what he could tell was a wider than natural smile.

"It can't be good to eat too many ov zem, bad for the intestines..." he said, his voice quieter now. He leaned closer to her, his voice a light whisper near her ear. "Und how are you, really?"

She looked at him, nodding her head once before answering. "I'm...home. Everything else is better now." He squeezed her hand then sat up straight, announcing Abes arrival at the table, "Vow, zat is a lot of food, Herr Sapien! "

"Oh please, do feel free to call me Abe, Johann." Abe said as he placed a heaped plate before her with a gracious sweep of his arm. He smiled down at her while she looked up at him with an amused expression. "Abe, I don't think even Red could eat five large sausage rolls, seven mini-quiches and a whole half of a roast chicken in one sitting!"

"Nonsense!" he said, waving his arm in a delicate motion as he returned to his seat, placing a much lighter place of lettuces and fruit before his own place at the table, "I've seen Red at a barbeque and believe me, he can eat anything!"

Her stomach rumbled again, louder this time and the three of them started to laugh. She reached out for one of the sausage rolls and took a bite, hunger taking over now. Abe and Johann were silent as she ate, Abe pretending to study his lettuce with great interest while Johann had a sudden curiosity about the tablecloth.

She was always very polite at the dinner table, so to see her reaching for her food with an almost desperate look on her face as she swallowed it down with big, famished bites was worrying. Abe could sense the feeling of urgency coming from her and pushed her glass of water closer without looking up at her. He wanted her to take a breath without making her feel self-conscious about herself.

She took a deep sip from the glass and sat back in her chair, staring into the bottom of her drink. Abe could tell that she was feeling a bit embarrassed, so he started up a conversation with Johann about a book he had recently been reading, so that she would not realise they had been keeping an eye on her.

What worried Abe the most was how she folded out her napkin on her lap and with great care not to be noticed, rolled the rest of her food into it, stowing it away in her pocket when she thought neither of them were looking at her. Once she finished her glass of water, Abe pretended to notice her empty plate for the first time.

"Goodness, you really were hungry!" Her cheeks reddened a little, and he reached out a hand to tuck some stray strands of hair behind her ear. She leaned her face into his hand, and he stayed there for a moment before lowering his hand to her shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Well, you should be nice and full for now, until supper time!"

"Oh, I vill be here at suppertime also, Herr... Abe. Zere is another tome I vould very much like to discuss viss you!" Johann said, recognising that Abe was telling her that she would be able to eat again soon, without actually saying those words.

"Excellent! Shall we go back to my quarters and have a rest?" he asked her. She rose, taking his hand as he held it out to her. "That would be wonderful."

They said their goodbyes to Johann. As they were leaving Abe looked back, sharing a concerned nod with the suited man at the table. It was apparent that Laufey had been using a lack of food as a way to punish her, which worried them both.