Kerry blinked slightly as some of the morning light shone through her curtains, causing her to waken. As she came round more she suddenly realised that she was wrapped securely in Smithys arms as he slept on. She felt comfortable and safe being beside him. She smiled slightly as she brushed her finger lightly a long his chin, feeling the fresh stubble scratch her skin.

Although Smithy quite often staid the night at Kerrys' and vice versa, they hadn't actually made love yet. After being violently raped by Gabriel Kent and then miscarrying his baby, Kerry struggled with the idea of intimacy. She could only let herself go so far, and then thoughts and feelings from that horrific night would flood her mind and she couldn't go any further. Smithy had been so kind and understanding. She liked having him around and she liked it when he staid over; it made her feel safe and secure. She just wished she could get over her past and move on, but she just couldn't quite let go.

Kerry laid beside him for a while, just watching him sleeping peacefully. After about ten minutes he began to stir, still holding tightly on to Kerry. Kerry leant forward and kissed him passionately.

"Well that's certainly a nice way to wake up." Smithy commented sleepily once they broke apart.

"Good Morning." Kerry replied with a very large grin.

"We'd better get up; we've got a busy Day ahead of us." Smithy said as he reluctantly pulled himself away from her once he'd seen the time on his watch.

"What time is it?" She asked as she stretched and yawned.

"Just leaving half past six, our flight is at ten." He explained.

Smithy had arranged to take Kerry away for a week in Switzerland on the ski slopes of the Alps. It was his treat so that they could spend their first Christmas together and away from anyone else.

"Do you think the airport is going to be busy?" She asked as she put her dressing gown on over her pyjamas.

Smithy was making his way into the bathroom with a fresh towel; Kerry could hear the water from the shower running.

"It's the Day before Christmas eve, so unfortunately I think it'll be mobbed with people coming or going home for the holidays." He replied as he climbed under the hot spray of water.

"Yeah you're probably right." Kerry said as she also undressed and joined him in the shower.

Smithy smirked and pulled her into a tight hug, kissing the top of her head.

"I thought this would be quicker." She replied cheekily to his unspoken, 'and what are you doing in here' look.

After their shower they quickly dressed and Kerry went downstairs to make them breakfast. She made eggs, bacon, toast, fried tomatoes and beans. She put the kettle on and had just finished making the coffee when Smithy came jogging down the stairs.

"What exactly do you do up there? You're worse than a woman." Kerry commented.

"Well I have to do my hair and make an effort for my girl. You should try it sometime." He quickly added at the end as he side stepped from a slap from Kerry.

He laughed as Kerry joined him at the table with their breakfast.

"You shouldn't have gone to all this trouble you know." Smithy commented as he looked down at the feast before him.

"Likewise about the holiday." She replied.

"Well I wanted to make sure that our first Christmas together was special." He said with a very large smile as he gazed lovingly at her.

They sat excitedly chatting about their week ahead. Smithy had so many lovely plans for them; all of which he planned to keep as a surprise for Kerry.

Finally at 8 o'clock they packed the taxi with their suitcases, and huddled together on the backseat as they made their way to Gatwick airport. It took them about an hour to get there with the busy Christmas traffic.

As they got out of the cab, Smithy went to get the case from the back as Kerry paid the driver. Then hand in hand they made their way to the terminal. Once they were through the check points and security they boarded their flight.

Kerry was both excited and very nervous. She hated flying but she was trying not to show Smithy that she was scared. He couldn't help notice though that she had become very quiet and her face looked pale.

"Are you alright Kerry?" He asked as he took her hand.

"Yeah.... Yeah, I'm fine." She stammered.

"Really? Because you don't look it." He replied.

"I'm fine honest; it's just that I don't like flying and I'm rather nervous." She admitted.

"Aw you should have said something sooner." He soothed as he wrapped his arm comfortingly round her shoulders.

She snuggled up closer to him and rested her head on his chest as she heard the whirring of the engines start. The plane rose into the air and Kerry relaxed a little once they were up.

They held each other close for most of the journey whispering into each other's ears about what they were going to do. They fell asleep holding each other for the rest of the journey and were woken by an announcement over the speaker saying they were about to land.

Kerry gripped Smithys' hand nervously as they plane touched the tarmac with a slight bump. Smithy couldn't help but smile, although he did feel sorry for her.

They walked off the plane together and walked towards the air port. They collected their luggage and made their way out into the cold again to get a taxi and travelled to Engelberg. They were staying in a single cabin on the side of a mountain. There was a ski resort about a 5-10 minute walk away and a small village about 20 minutes away.

They arrived at the ski resort at around half past one. They had to check in here and be shown to their cabin by a guide. They walked into the reception and approached the desk where a young woman sat typing at her computer. She looked up when she heard them come in and smiled warmly.

"Hi there, welcome to Alphaven resort." She greeted.

"Hi." Smithy replied with a smile.

"How can I help today?" She asked.

"We have a reservation booked under the name Dale Smith." He explained.

The young woman typed his details into the computer and handed them the key to their cabin.

"You're in cabin number 2953. It's roughly three quarters of a mile up the hill behind us, but I'll get one of guides to help you up." She said as she lifted the receiver of the phone in front of her. She spoke to someone, asking them to come to the reception to collect them.

They didn't have to wait long for someone to arrive. A young guy in his mid to late twenties walked in and approached the young couple.

"Hi there, you must be Mr Smith." He said as he shook Smithys hand.

"Please call me Smithy." Smithy replied politely. "This is my girlfriend Kerry." He introduced.

"Well it's very nice to meet you both. My name is Ben and I'm going to be your guide and ski coach whilst you're here, as well as a point of contact." He explained as he led them outside to a truck.

He helped them with their luggage and then drove them in the direction of their cabin. Kerry was in awe of the beautiful scenery and the fresh smell of snow and mountains. After a couple of minutes, they arrived outside a large wooden cabin. Kerry could smell the pine and loved everything about her surroundings. There wasn't another cabin for quarter of a mile and barely a soul in sight. This was the perfect spot for them; peace, tranquillity, privacy and intimacy. Exactly what they needed.

"Right I'll let you get settled in. There's a phone in the lounge if you need anything, it's linked directly to the reception." Ben said before getting back into his truck.

Kerry looked at Smithy and threw her arms round his neck with an excided scream.

"Oh my God Smithy this is perfect." She squealed.

"Well let's explore the whole cabin, not just the outside." Smithy joked as he led her inside.

Kerry was absolutely speechless at the beauty of what she saw before her.

As Smithy unlocked the door, it opened immediately into the lounge where there was a large open fire at the far end and a couch in front with white furry rug on the floor. There was also a small dining area and kitchen off to the left which over looked the mountains and ski centre. The bedroom was down stairs but was very large, very spacious and had a king size bed in front of a very large window. This was at the back of the cabin and again overlooked the view. There was a staircase in the middle of the cabin that led to a wooden balcony upstairs with a couch and small TV; but the best thing was the French doors that led to the balcony outside.

Kerry couldn't contain herself. Her eyes filled with tears of happiness and she grabbed Smithy and kissed him passionately in a slow embrace.

"I take it you like it then?" He joked once they'd broken apart.

"Like it? Smithy I love it, this is going to be the most magical Christmas ever." She replied before kissing him again.

They spent the rest of the day unpacking and sorting things out. By the time the evening came they were both exhausted and ready to sit and relax. Kerry made them both a mug of hot chocolate and they huddled together on the couch in front of the fire watching the flames. Smithy had his arm wrapped round Kerry tightly and protectively, and she snuggled closer to him. He kissed the top of her head and thought about the events ahead of them. He smiled inwardly as he thought about the surprise he had in store for Kerry. He looked down and saw Kerry had fallen asleep. He turned his attention back to the fire before slowly drifting off himself.