*AN* My first song fic. It's not that great but I tried. I couldnt get what I pictured in the song to come out into words. The song is called Peppermint Winter by Owl City. I will also be posting this story on FF's sister site, Fiction Press since BTR's name/trademark is not mentioned. If general fiction is your thing, then feel free to stop by my profile on FP! I'm under the same name and many of my stories are quite short, not exceeding 5 pages. More fan fiction to come on this account soon, I am currently debating about opening a second account so I can upload non-BTR fics and keep this one just for BTR since it is what I write the most of.*
It was a cold winter's day; the sky cloudy and gray. A snow storm was coming, a big one too. Katie was on her way to the Academy of Canine Science; a very large and famed school of many different animal careers. It was closed right now though; today was the day before Christmas Eve. The school was eerily quiet, not a soul was around except for those who didn't celebrate Christmas. The students who chose to stay had to earn their keep by caring for all the animals on the campus, they also had to fend for themselves when it came to food for the next few days.
Katie parked right outside the main building which housed many of the offices. There was much work to be done and with nothing else to do, and not wanting to be home, she decided now was a good a time as any to get stuff done. With her faithful canine, Shadow at her side, she walked up to the empty building, unlocked it, entered and locked it behind her. She went straight down the hall to her office where a pile of paperwork waited on her desk and in the bin outside her door. She had taken a few days break just before the holidays to catch up on some other work at home.
She sat at her desk and got straight to work as she unloaded her bag and Shadow's things and got comfortable. She organized the paperwork and agenda waiting for her into a pile before starting the first item. She was working diligently in the quiet of her office before being disturbed by a security officer who noticed lights on. No one was supposed to be in the building but since it was Katie, the founder and head master of the school, she was obviously excused. He went on his business but kept her presence in the back of his head so he would add extra patrols around the building to assure her safety.
She stayed hard at work for several hours, making great progress. Occasionally she would scour the internet to take a short break between assignments but never getting thoroughly sidetracked. Shadow stayed quiet much of the time, only getting up once or twice to switch positions but other wise he just slept on his plush bed in the corner of Katie's very roomy office. She had the biggest office of everyone and rightly so, she was the founder after all but her room also had other functions. When first starting out, she often spent the night, the closet opened up to another room where her bed was kept and she also had her own private bathroom and shower. Shadow liked to be the only dog so he enjoyed having this space to himself. There was enough room for visitors and clients for meetings or other social gatherings too although those had dwindled as of lately.
She spent the day at the Academy, originally planning on spending the night, not because she wanted to get her work done but because being home was just too stressful lately. Her husband had to leave on business and her parents were amidst some drama and taking out their frustrations on her. She felt so alone and down trodden despite it being almost Christmas, one of her favorite holidays. She took a longer break after noticing the room getting dark; she turned on the lights both in her office and turned the hall lights back on after they had been shut off by a security guard. Naturally the guards were surprised seeing her still there but didn't question it and just left her continue her work but stepping up patrols as well.
A few curious students had managed to pop their heads into the main building through the kennel, thanks to one of the workers and sat with Katie to talk about some homework assignments and such they had over break. The snow had started to fall at around 3 in the afternoon but since she was inside she had no idea the storm had started so early. The Academy sat on several hundred acres, sitting almost a mile off of the main road so regular traffic couldn't be heard. Shadow had gone in and out of the office through his dog door but because he spent time sitting in the covered shelter part of the pen, he didn't have any snow on his fur.
Katie started to get tired just from staring at her computer screen and paperwork all day long so she was about ready to call it a day. She hadn't received any calls all day, even on her cell phone so obviously her parents were still arguing or too busy to notice or care that their daughter was missing. She wanted to go home but figured it be best if she stayed at the academy for the night, just so everyone could have a break from each other. She knew they didn't mean most of what they said but it still hurt. She wandered around the office building just to get some exercise and to get a snack. She ran around the arena with Shadow to give him a quick bit of exercise and to do a bit of training to keep him on his toes. Afterwards she double checked all the exits to be sure everything was locked before she got settled in bed to watch a movie.
The hall lights stayed on, as did a few night lights scattered amongst the room in both the bedroom and office to find her way in the dark. Shadow had free range of both rooms so the door was left pushed around. She paused the movie for a bit to check her email one last time before going to bed so she could shut it down for the night. She responded to what she could and saved the rest for the morning. She put it away and returned to bed, turning off the light on the way. She was entranced by the movie and paid no mind to Shadow's wandering as he went in and out of the room and his run; this wasn't the first time he spent the night at the Academy but he just was a bit uneasy about it. He was never one to just pick a spot and stay there though, even at home he changed positions and spots every 20 minutes to an hour.
She didn't hear Shadow prancing around, she didn't see him moving, she wasn't paying attention to Shadow at all who was super excited to see someone familiar, entering Katie's office. She had her door locked of course, including the building itself and only a few people had keys to the place. Shadow was friendly of course, to most people but usually when she was in her room, he would never let anyone past regardless if she was awake or not. But this person was an exception apparently. The person greeted Shadow to keep him quiet as they slowly looked around the dark office and followed the sound of the movie blaring from the other room.
They opened the door ever so slightly to look inside and find Katie sitting up in bed but staring at the TV, the door frame just out of her line of view. With a little maneuvering the door opened just enough, quietly so the person could extend their arm in the shadows, reel back and chuck a snowball at Katie that smashed into fine powder on her bed. She yelled out and stood up to shake it out of her sheets before turning on a light to inspect what was going on. When she saw the snow she looked to see her door open and something was moving. She cautiously looked out, to see Shadow happy as could be; he pointed to the door in earnest and let him out.
He ran down the hall, Katie trailing behind with his leash. He waited at the main door and she clipped the leash to his collar before opening the door and exiting. It was the first time she saw the snow today, and she wasn't expecting it; especially the amount. Everything within sight was covered with at least an inch of the white powder. She looked up to the sky that glowed a soft purple as it usually did on a snowy night. The white lights reflected off the surface, making it seem almost like day time. She could see foot prints in the snow; they were large size and spread out to indicate running. Someone was around.
She called security and they showed up quickly, one checking the building, another following the tracks. Katie was left standing just under the awning, back against the building so no one could surprise her. Or so she thought, another snowball made its way to her person, hitting her on the shoulder, she let out a squeal and Shadow took charge, nose to the ground as he searched for a scent and looked around the immediate area. He snorted and grunted, frustrated and confused that he couldn't find anything but still kept watch.
She went back inside to get out of the cold, no sign of the security officers. Shadow wanted to go for a walk so she grabbed her jacket and hopped for the best. She crept out of the doorway, looking all around outside. The footprints had started to fill in and all was quiet again. It was a little late at about 11:30 but most of the students were pretty good about keeping things quiet; especially since only a handful were left. She walked around the front greenery quietly and carefully, constantly looking over her shoulder as Shadow did his business. When both were distracted she was hit with another snowball. This time when she turned around, she was face to face with her husband, Kendall who was supposedly on a business trip. In one hand he held a small gift and in the other, a snowball; he had been the one throwing all the snowballs. It explained how one got inside, Kendall didn't personally have a key but he did have access to the extra set that sat at the family house.
Kendall had gotten the chance to go home early and when he arrived to see the house a disheveled mess, and his wife gone, he figured she could use some company and some cheering up. He grabbed the extra keys and made his way to the academy. Although it was late at night and the curfew had passed, Kendall was well known enough that the guards let him in anyway.
"Here, I brought you this." he said handing over the present. She took it but gave him the biggest hug she could before leaving a kiss on his cheek. She opened it up to find a charm bracelet inside, each charm was hand picked by Kendall and represented a fond memory they shared over the past year, their first year of marriage. She looked over each one and could immediately tell what it was from, except for the last one.
"What's the snowflake stand for?" she asked curiously. Kendall gave a devilish smirk.
"This." he said simply before tossing the snowball at her.
She flinched and he ran off laughing lightly. She laughed too and picked up some snow before chasing after him. She tossed several balls, only a handful ever hitting him. But it didn't really matter, both were having fun regardless of the score, which wasn't being kept. They laughed and had fun for about an hour; drawing a bit of attention from students in the nearby dorm as lights kept turning on and blinds going up. The students watched their instructor curiously as she ran around like a child but at the same time they couldn't help but smile; it had been a while since they saw her so happy and glowing. They watched for a while before heading back to sleep, shortly before and after the couple called it quits and headed inside for the night. Naturally the students had other ideas what the young couple might be doing; being only 25 and all. Katie and Kendall warmed up in bed, and fell asleep in each others arms, a smile on their faces and in their hearts.
The next morning, the couple awoke to a chilly but calm morning. The storm had left about a foot of snow around the campus, making it difficult but not impossible to move about. Snow removal wouldn't happen until after Christmas at the earliest but there were already signs of other foot prints in the snow from people moving about. Most likely the snow would melt on its own throughout today and tomorrow as it was planned to get up to 50 degrees F. Katie had woken up first but as soon as she got out of bed, Shadow began to prance and he jumped onto the bed, waking Kendall.
Katie was ready to go home and get something to eat, she wanted to spend Christmas home with her family and Kendall agreed. They both got dressed and Katie packed her things before they headed outside. Kendall had caught a taxi from the airport so he didn't have a car to worry about. Katie took in the scenery, the fresh snow sitting gently on everything, sending a sort of calming effect through her. She sighed and smiled before running out the door with Shadow. The two twirled around and played in the snow until Katie slipped and landed on her side. Kendall ran over to pick her up and although she was shaken up, she was otherwise fine.
They got in the car and drove off towards home, where a huge breakfast was waiting for both of them. They sat down and spent time with Katie's parents who were just finishing up their meals. The family spent an additional hour just talking and laughing before the phone rang.
"I'll get it." her mother said. She wasn't long before she came back with a look on her face and was quiet concerned. "Katie, it's your security team." she continued handing the phone over to her daughter. Katie took the phone and got up, feeling all eyes on her as she began her conversation. Power had gone out at the Academy due to ice buildup on the power lines, half of the campus was lit but the dorms and kennel were without heat and power. She had no choice but to rush back and figure out something to do. Kendall went with her, so did Katie's mom.
Once on campus, security met her with all the details they had. Electricians and power crews were unavailable during the holiday despite the emergency need for the students. Katie surveyed the area and found that one of the classroom buildings and the office building had power. About 100 students were currently on campus and she had to find space for all of them. She headed to the dorms to talk with the RA's and told them to gather their students for further instruction as Katie figured out what to do. Security unlocked the class building and Katie went inside to scout what she could do. With 3 floors to use, she figured she could put the boys on the 2nd floor and girls on the first. The classrooms could fit about 10 students for sleeping comfortably so she updated the RA's on what she had planned and left them to split the students into groups.
Once the students were settled and placed into their appropriate areas, security was assigned to monitor the building, unable to lock it with the students inside. No one was allowed outside unless for an emergency. With that settled, Katie began to check on her animals. The temperature was dropping slowly in the kennel and there was no other place to put the animals. She caged up the dogs and brought them to the arena inside the main building where they would spend the night. The cats, would be kept in the lounge and the small animals were left in the viewing room. As for the reptiles, a back up generator was hooked up to keep them nice and warm so there was no worry there. Katie checked on her horses at the back of the property, they were fine and handling the weather just fine.
Time had gone by pretty fast with everything that had been going on and while it wasn't dusk just yet, the sky was definitely getting to that time just before dusk. Kendall had wanted to go for a sleigh ride for the longest time but snow had been so rare this season and now that it had finally fallen, there was another issue to worry about. He forgot about it for now and just pictured what it might be like and hoped that maybe tomorrow there might be some snow left where they could go for a nice ride. In any case, he started another snowball fight before stuffing some snow down her coat. Kendall was the playful type and it really brought out Katie's bright attitude.
Even though it was cold and she had been outside for hours, she hadn't complained once yet. She was so happy that nothing seemed to matter. Despite the day's shortcomings, the holidays were here, her husband was home, and her family was calm and happy. She was having fun, she was smiling and she felt so alive! She would be sad once Christmas was over but she knew it would return again next year, just as big as it was now. Even though the year was full of ups and downs, most of which really tested her inner strength, Christmas was the one thing she looked forward to most. After all was said and done, and the couple had their fun, they returned home for their long winter's nap after having the Christmas Eve feast.
Surprisingly, she slept in late the next morning but once she woke up, she jumped out of bed and ran to the banister to look over the loft. The Christmas tree was bright and glowing, stacked with presents underneath the tree. She ran down the stairs in her PJs like a kid and was caught but Kendall who picked her up in a hug. He kissed her and she met his lips.
"Merry Christmas, Katie!" he said happily.
"Merry Christmas." She replied, looking into his green eyes. He put her down and her mom came out of the kitchen to great her daughter. Her father was watching a western on the TV in the living room and came in only when his wife called. The family spent the morning exchanging and opening gifts; so many gifts. Katie got the usual gifts such as clothes and even socks and as boring as they would usually be, Christmas made them different. Kendall bought her a new computer, a very powerful laptop that could handle her workload but at the same time could be used for games during her downtime. Her parents gave her a new camera that she needed. Kendall was given a smart phone, upgrading him from his blackberry so he could talk to and see Katie anytime rather than having to wait for a wireless signal for his computer.
Once the gifts were passed around, Katie left to check on the Academy to see how things were coming along. Power still hadn't been restored yet and to make up for it, Katie bought all of the students pizza for dinner. It wasn't much, but with the amount of students to buy for, pizza was the only alternative. While everyone ate, she set up a horse and carriage to give rides to the students who wanted to go. Dusk began to set in and snow had started to lightly fall again. Students piled into the wagon and Katie drove them around the long winding paths of the facility.
After the 2nd round of rides, Kendall had caught up to her halfway through the third go around. He had come out to keep her company after she had been gone for an hour. He noticed the students waiting and when he found out about the rides, he went straight to the barn and tacked up Katie's horse, Zeus. He followed the tracks in the snow and cantered his way after them and pulled up beside the wagon. The students went silent and cooed at the couple's presence. They talked about anything and everything, trying to keep it between them but the students were obviously doing their best to listen in. Despite the snow, which was coming down heavier now, it was a fairly calm night.
Katie took the 4th and final load of students for their ride, having to cut the ride short due to the snow. Once she dropped them back off and all the students were corralled inside, she drove the wagon to the barn, Kendall along side her and put the horses away before returning to the main building in a golf cart. The night was calm and not too chilly surprisingly, the warm feeling of happiness kept them both warm. Christmas was just about over but the feeling would last for a few more days at least. The two of them drove home to spend the rest of Christmas with her parents in front of the Christmas tree and the fire to keep warm as the family laughed and had a good time for the first time in a while.