I don't own the Biker Mice From Mars, they are the property of their respective owners. Lania and Airik, however, do belong to me. I make no money from this piece of fiction. It is written for enjoyment only.

Winter Peace

"Sit down, Vinnie," Charley snapped.

Vinnie stopped pacing the main area of their rented cabin and flopped into a slightly worn couch. "Awww, c'mon Charley-girl. We've got nothing to do," he whined.

Lania raised an eyebrow as she looked in Vinnie's direction. "You're just going to have to deal with it, adrenaline junky. New Hampshire doesn't have any Plutarkian population near as we know, and even you should be able to see the wisdom in staying inside during a…what did the weather man call it…a Nor'easter."

Throttle looked at the three females and sighed. "Still, even you two have to admit that there is nothing to do."

"Maybe we should have stayed in Chicago while you girls had a vacation," Modo ventured.

Airik choked on her water while Lania looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"If you guys think for one moment that I'm going to leave you around my garage with Jack in charge and Limburger out of operation for two weeks, then you really need to be evaluated. Professionally," Charley stated in a no-nonsense voice.

"Any way, don't you guys know how to relax? That is why we're all here. And we did warn you that this place was a four room deal," Lania added.

"Yeah, but I didn't think we'd be stuck staring at the stove for a whole day," Vinnie answered.

"Yeah, snow wasn't on the agenda," Throttle pointed out.

Airik sighed and looked at her mother, then at the rest of the group. "If you guys promise to play nice, we could always break out the cards. I think there's a cribbage board around here somewhere too."

"Cribbage??" Modo asked.

Vinnie looked slightly offended. "Play nice? You make it sound like we're dangerous when we play games."

"Doesn't it go without saying?" Lania laughed.

"Mom's told me how you guys play games."

"At this point in time, I'll even play nice if it will give me something to do," Throttle sighed. "So how do we play this cribbage game?"

"Awesome!" Airik called as she rummaged in the cupboards.

"It would be easier to teach you in pairs," Charley said.

"We'll even play cutthroat if you want," Airik said mischievously.

"Cutthroat?" Vinnie perked up.

"Settle Vinnie," Charley responded with a chuckle, "it's not nearly as dangerous as it sounds."

Several hours later Charley, Airik, Throttle, and Vinnie were at the table engrossed in a game of cribbage pairs while Modo watched from the couch and Lania peeked through the curtains.

"I think it's starting to slow down out there. I bet it'll be finished before morning," she commented to no one in particular.

"Cool! Snow sports!!" Vinnie said, looking up from his hand momentarily.

As everyone else chuckled from the obvious anticipation in Vinnie's voice, Lania moved to put her boots on.

"What're you doin'?" Modo asked her.

"Going outside for a few minutes. Join me? There's something I want you to see," she replied with a smile.

"Sure," Modo replied.

As the two of them reached the door Lania turned to Modo with a sheepish look on her face.

"Um…would you mind…closing your eyes? Please?" she asked as a blush began to make its way up her neck and into her cheeks.

Modo raised an eyebrow, "Not at all."

Both ignored the sudden lack of conversation from the cribbage players and the snicker from Vinnie as Lania and Modo stepped outside.

Lania slowly led Modo across the porch and down the front steps. She helped Modo flounder through some rather high snow until they were about four feet from the porch. By then she could see the bemused expression on Modo's face as his ears twitched.

"Ok. You can open them now."

Modo opened his eyes and gasped in wonder. The snow was falling lightly in soft, large flakes. The night itself was quiet. Sounds were muffled as though his ears were covered in velvet. The only prominent sound was the light swishing of snow landing on various surfaces. As if that weren't enough, there was a breathtaking clarity to the scene. Though it was the middle of the night he could see the edge of the forest on the other side of the field across the road clearly.

"It's so beautiful," he said in a low voice as he held Lania close to his side. "But how could it possibly be this bright?"

"It's a full moon above the clouds tonight," she responded in a voice barely above a whisper as she pointed at the silver blanket the clouds had become.

How long they stood there they didn't know, and amazingly the faces they both just knew had to be looking out the front door window weren't saying either. Finally Modo turned to Lania, a smile tugging at his mouth at the sight of her hair covered in a crown of snowflakes.

"Thank you. I can't remember the last time I saw something so peaceful."

Her response was a content smile, which he repaid with a light, lingering kiss.