Stumbling through the bone-chilling snow that was level with the first-story window bottoms, Rika trudged on. Weary with cold and exhaustion, and chiding herself on taking a longer route than usual through the heavy Christmas pedestrian traffic, she forced herself to continue, thinking of a certain handsome blue-haired boy, smiling brightly at the news she had to deliver. She wouldn't have noticed that she had fallen face down in the snow, if she hadn't noticed the fact that the air around her face had gotten colder in almost no time flat. She forced her arm to move, but it seemed to have other ideas right then. Almost frozen stiff, and too exhausted to stay awake, she was asleep before she realized it.

Lost in her dreams, Rika waltzed around a dance floor to a slow, serene tune with Henry, lost in his soft gray eyes, smiling. Her cheeks were warm from the temperature or the romance, she couldn't tell which, but not caring either way. Smiling, she only knew one thing for sure. All she wanted right then was to be with Henry. Something warm touched her cheek, causing her to stir. She was still cold, but for some reason, she didn't feel the snow below her.

"Rika?" came a gentle, but concerned voice. "Rika? Can you hear me?"
"Unhhh…." Rika groaned, which they took to mean yes.
"Rika, it's me. Henry. We're at my house." He said, shaking her gently.
"Unhhh… Henry? Wha…? How'd you get here? How'd *I* get here? Where's Renamon?" She asked slowly, trying to sit up.
"Shhhhh…." Henry chided. "Lie back down, you're not strong enough yet… Renamon's sleeping; she found you lying outside in the snow, half dead and came to get me. What were you thinking, going that way at this time of year? You could have died…" He trailed off, shaking his head to send the thought on its way.

Rika smirked. She hadn't seen this coming, but knew Henry well enough by now to know that he'd say something like that.
"I suppose you won't even let me tell you what I came to tell you then, huh?" Rika asked slowly, so she wouldn't agitate him. Henry thought a moment, part of him wanting to hear, but another part saying she wasn't strong enough yet. Eventually, his curiosity overcame his caution.
"Hmm… I suppose… Just don't get too excited, okay Ri'?" He responded. Rika smiled. She'd known he'd let her if she'd put it that way. She took a slow breath.
"You know that Christmas ball off in America that our parents wouldn't let us attend?" She asked, tempting him. Henry nodded slowly, wondering where this was heading.
"Well… My mom got two tickets from someone at work, and didn't know what to do with them, so she gave them to me." She said smiling, and flashed two tickets at him with the words Annual Christmas Dance written on them.

Henry stared, open-mouthed at her, at a loss for what to say, causing Rika's smile to broaden.
"I thought you'd like that." She said, lying down slowly, too tired to say anything more for the moment. Rika was asleep the instant her head hit the cushion.

Henry smiled, and stood up. Slowly, so as not to disturb Rika's slumber, he tiptoed over to the closet, and grabbed a blanket for her. As he got back to the couch, he stepped on a temperamental board, which proceeded to give a yelp. Startled, Henry froze, praying Rika hadn't heard the noise. Glancing at her sleeping form, he saw by the smile on her face that she hadn't. Slowly, he draped the blanket over her, smiling.
"G'night Ri'." He whispered.

Rika yawned, and opened her eyes. Across the room, she saw one of the closets had been opened at some point during the night. Glancing out the window, she saw that the snow still fell from the night before, icicles hanging from the windowsill. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, she looked around for Henry.

"…Henry?" she whispered. When no response came, she figured he was still asleep, probably in his room. Slowly, she rose into a sitting position. Attempting to get up, she pushed herself forwards; looking down to make sure she wouldn't step on anything. Rika gasped. She'd almost stepped on Henry, who had been sleeping on the floor below the couch, probably to make sure she didn't go anywhere during the previous night. Henry felt a brief wind on his face. With a moan he opened his eyes.

"Unnnnhh… Rika?" he asked, half asleep, glancing at his watch. "Oh man… What're you doing up at this hour?" Rika blinked. "What time is it?" she asked softly.
"Almost two…in the morning." Henry replied, still blinking sleep out of his eyes.
"Really?" She asked, glancing outside. Henry nodded. "You went to sleep about six last night." Rika blinked. Man, she must have been more out of it than she'd thought.

"Try and get some more sleep Ri'…Please?" She nodded, shifting back into a sleeping position.
"Aren't you cold down there?" she asked him. Henry shook his head. "I'm fine." He replied, shivering. Fortunately, Rika didn't see, having gone back to sleep, which was a relief. After several fruitless moments of attempting to return to the realm of dreams, Henry sighed.

"…Might as well do something useful for a bit." he said, noticing that the fire had gone out. Moving as slowly and quietly as was possible, Henry moved towards the fireplace. Carefully, he lifted the logs from pile to fireplace. He blew on the embers of the old fire until he was satisfied that it wouldn't go out again for a while. Slowly going back to the sleeping bag he was using to guard Rika so as not to wake her, Henry glanced out the window. The snow was piled way past the bottom of the window, and still coming down hard. Without a doubt, they wouldn't be able to get out tomorrow without trouble. As he was getting back in his sleeping bag, images flashed through his mind of what could have happened to Rika.

"No…" Henry thought, "She's safe, and that's what matters."