A/N: Okay so this idea came to me the day AFTER Valentine's Day, hence the reason it's late. It actually came to me while working on that other little gem that I can't seem to finish, A Dime a Dozen. I promise that will be updated soon too, but the plot bunnies on this one had some crazy V-day loving and multiplied like crazy. It's a work in progress...but if I waited any longer to post the first chapter, it would just be silly!

Better than Chocolate

When McGee and Abby find themselves stuck together during a Valentines Day blizzard, they realize just how much things have changed…and how some things stay the same.

Chapter 1

McGee stood tapping his foot impatiently and tried not to sigh…again. Normally, his favorite Chinese place was so quick with their takeout orders, but tonight was different. He turned and looked outside, gauging the weather situation once again. The snow was coming down fast and hard, and as much as he wasn't looking forward to walking in it, he was thankful he hadn't attempted to drive. His car could do a lot of things, including go from zero to sixty in under six seconds and draw the attention of female passers by, but it could not handle the snow. So he'd left it parked in its space, in the garage that he'd paid extra for and he'd walked the two blocks to the shopping center, which housed Uncle Chen's China Bistro.

"Okay, its ready," said the young girl behind the counter. "Duck sauce, soy sauce?" she asked.

"Both, please. And hot mustard." He replied. She added his condiments to the bag, and he observed as she put in several sets of chopsticks. It wasn't surprising that she did so, he'd ordered enough food for a family of four, but he would be the only one eating it. His refrigerator housed only the fresh vegetables that he mixed in with Jethro's kibble and an unopened container of milk that was so old he was shocked that it hadn't grown legs and walked itself to the garbage. With the weather the way it was, he wasn't going to attempt grocery shopping, so he left it up to Uncle Chen.

He paid for his food, and pulled his hat out of his pocket. He pulled it down firmly onto his head, making sure his ears were covered, and then slipped on his gloves. He took one more look at the blizzard, zipped up his jacket, grabbed his food and left.

McGee walked quickly through the parking lot of the large shopping center, as the cold flakes flicked his face. The wind blew them harder with each gust and as he watched people desperately scraping their windshields and kicking snow out from beneath their tires, he knew he'd made the right decision to walk, even if it was freezing. As was his staple, he observed the individuals he was passing by with the close detail that any writer would. It was situations like these that he loved because it gave him fodder for his novels.

A young woman sat in the passenger seat of a green Ford Excursion, while her husband or boyfriend attempted to clean the snow from the roof. He couldn't tell if they were married since her hands were out of view and his were gloved. It was a force of habit to look for a wedding ring now. It had been ever since Adrian Corbett. A middle aged woman, took firm of her young son's hand and pulled him along towards their vehicle, carrying a bag of groceries in her other hand. The boy, too preoccupied with catching snowflakes on his tongue, quickly grabbed at his hat when it nearly fell off. McGee smiled and wondered if this scene could possibly fit in with the stakeout scene he was writing for Officer Lisa and Agent Tommy. It was cliché, to have a snowbound situation lead to romance, but his publisher and the fans had spoken. He had to write it, he just had to figure out how.

It was then that he noticed a familiar car parked in an area that was practically void of any other vehicles. Soon enough, he recognized a familiar goth kicking at it's tires and cursing like a sailor.

"Abby?" he called out, and she turned around. He looked both ways before crossing over to her, a silly notion since there were hardly any cars on the road at all. Even if they had been present, they certainly wouldn't be traveling at speeds that could do any serious damage. He hurriedly made his way to her car and spied the reason for her violent outburst.

"Hey McGee," she greeted, only slightly happy to see him. She was dressed in her usual bowling attire except her saddle shoes had been replaced by her platform boots with the flames up the sides. Her coat was partially open and she wasn't wearing a hat. The light pink scarf that tied her ponytail had turned a darkened shade of fuchsia due to the moist flakes that covered it. Those same flakes had also covered Abby's entire head

"What are you doing out here in this weather?" he asked.

She sighed before answering. "Our usual bowling alley was closed because of the snow, but we have a tournament next weekend and we needed the practice. This place was open," she explained gesturing to the large bowling alley that was directly in front of them.

"So we bowled for a little while, and then the sisters left. And then I come outside to find this!" she said, kicking the flat tire with her boot.

"Did you call Triple A?" he asked, peering down to see just how flat the tire actually was. It was too flat for her to attempt to drive home on, even in good weather conditions.

"Yeah, but because of the blizzard they're swamped. The guy said two hours at least." She answered, rubbing her gloved hands together. At least part of her is covered, McGee thought to himself. Just then her face lit up.

"Oh my God, McGee! You can change my tire!" she exclaimed, rushing past him to open her trunk.

"Abby, I am not changing your tire in this weather, forget it." He replied.

"Please McGee, come on, I think I have a jack in here…somewhere," she said, searching through the mess that was the trunk of her car. She had chains, a large collection of forensics books; he even thought he saw a whip, which didn't surprise him. "Ah, ha!" she shrieked. She turned to him, her mouth turned upwards into her classic "I told you so," smirk and held up the jack. He knew from looking inside her trunk that she was missing a crucial piece of the puzzle.

"Do you have a spare tire in there?" he asked, knowing she didn't. The smirk wiped itself off of her face and she threw the jack back in the trunk. "Damn it, so close," she muttered. She slammed the trunk and kicked the tire once again.

"Abby, come on this ridiculous. You can't sit out here for two hours in your car. Just come to my place and wait it out there," he offered, switching the Chinese food bags to his other hand. They were getting heavy.

She gnawed on her bottom lip for a moment, contemplating her options. The snow didn't look like it was going to let up anytime soon, and the weather channel had been predicting that the blizzard could last well into the early hours of the morning. She could stay in her car and let the gas run out as she kept the heater on, and then possibly die of hypothermia if the Triple A guy didn't show up or she could go to McGee's, wolf down some Chinese and play with Jethro.

She quickly took off walking and was already well on her way before she turned around and shouted back to him.

"What the hell are you waiting for McGee? It's freezing out here!"

He smiled and shook his head, the delicate flakes still flicking at his nose as he rushed to catch up with her.