Elizabeth's body shook from the wildly contrasting sensations of the freezing snow beneath her and the hot press of John's body against her. A car horn pierced the ear, playing a rather painfully loud rendition of La Cucaracha.

Laughter resonated above the rattling noise of motor exhaust. Elizabeth ruefully bit down on her lip when John moved to his feet and reached down to help her.

They turned around to find the hotel clerk behind the wheel of a golf cart. The clerk had changed into heavy winter clothes and boots, but Elizabeth could see now he was younger than she'd originally thought. Great, Elizabeth mused watching John thoughtfully eye the golf cart. She could practically picture the tire tracks in the parking lot now from the pair of those two doing donuts in the snow.

Elizabeth shivered. Chunks of snow had matted in her hair, little pieces were escaping onto her neck, freezing her skin. She ran her hands through her curls, trying to shake it away.

"Next time you're on the bottom." Her voice for John's ears only.

John's head swung back around, a look of delighted surprise on his face. His eyes were anything but lighthearted, though, they'd molted into pools of fiery heat. He took her head in hand, his thumb brushing against her cheek, pulling her closer.

"Right on, Sheppard. I had my doubts about you two. Thought you might be a little stuffy, but look at you two melting the snow on my sidewalk."

A soft hiss escaped John's throat as he pulled away.

Wine, Elizabeth thought. She needed wine. "Is there a store open within walking distance?"

"Right on, got to get your romance on. I'll bet you want some wine. Personally, I like a good craft beer, but I think we can rock some vino. It's a small town here, babe, small but not entirely backwards. We know how to appreciate the finer things in life."

"Babe?" Elizabeth silently mouthed to John.

The clerk climbed out of the car and grabbed Elizabeth's bag. John picked up his own and they ambled up the path to their Chalet.

"This place here is my woman's pride and joy. She fixed this place up, trying to fix me up. You know, she's got me dressing funny and talking funny when I'm at work. "

Elizabeth found herself walking faster as if she could escape the inane conversation spewing forth around her. Surfer dude had a trace of a southern drawl, she realized.

"It's Sheppard, right? You look like the kind of guy too cool to just go by a first name. Dude, you could probably drop a name and be like, one of those people who just have one name, like-"

John's hand clamped down on the clerks shoulder. "Listen, dude. I need you to lay off the Red Bull-"

"Whoaaaaa. Dude. Is that a glock?" His eyes gleaned with admiration. "Hey, you can call me Clint. I mean, it's like my name and all."

"All right. Clint." John pulled leather jacket closer together before readying the key in his hand, seemingly as eager to escape him as Elizabeth.

Clint looked side to side as if checking for prying ears. "You look like a special ops kind of guy. I've got Black Ops for Xbox, maybe we can catch some action while you're snowed in."

Elizabeth's eyebrow popped and she couldn't help but chuckle softly. John did have a way with the children. Juvenile males seemed to flock to him like a moth to a flame, sensing they'd discovered a kindred spirit. The glimmer in John's eye shone prominently for a moment, but John shook his head softly and his scowl soon returned.

"Clint, let me make one thing very clear. You need to talk less. A lot less." John hitched his thumb towards Elizabeth. "And no one is to call her babe."

"All right, that's cool." Clint deposited Elizabeth's bag at the doorway and watched while John unlocked the door. "So, anyway. Thought you'd want a ride over to Benton's Market before it closes. I need a few last minute munchies before my lady gets home. You know how it is man, you got to take care of your babe."

John gave Elizabeth a pleading look, but there was no way she was letting him out of this. She threw her most menacing look his way. "Wine, John. Lots and lots of wine. See if they have anything to eat, some cheese or fruit and-"

"Dude and they have awesome hot wings." Clint nodded earnestly.

John pushed the door open whispering quietly. "If you took McKay, made him dumb, gave him a southern surfer accent-"

Laughter rolled through her body. "Behave. We need the supplies."

They stepped inside and Elizabeth sucked in a deep breath of surprise. "Wow."

It was nothing like the throwback to the 1950's she expected. The interior had obviously been completely renovated. Now she understood why they called them chalets. A fat overstuffed sofa and chairs were nestled in front of a tall fireplace made of warm river rock. Cozy plaid blankets were stacked within easy reach and a inviting kitchen and dining area were tucked away to the far side of the room. The wood floors gleamed beneath Elizabeth's feet and she heaved a sigh of relief.

"All right, gotta bolt, Sheppard. They'll be closing in an hour." Clint headed back out the door. "I'll go warm the cart up."

"He realizes there are no doors in that thing, right?" Elizabeth laughed.

"Well I do, so don't think you're getting off the hook so easy. You're going to owe me pretty lady." His eyed her speculatively.

"Says he who got me stranded here to begin with."

"Right." Johns face scrunched with guilt. "I'll start by trying to find some very nice wine to make it up to you."

Elizabeth stepped closer to him, throwing a longing glance towards the fire place "Build me a fire when you come back and I'll consider it a deal."

John's hand trailed through her hair, gently shaking out tiny clumps of melting snow. "And then what should we do, Elizabeth?" His breath dusted hot against her ear.

She was saved by the shattering blare of the golf cart's horn, playing La Cucaracha once again.

"Go!" Elizabeth laughed and nudged him gently towards the door. He cupped her chin, leveling her with a final firey gaze before pulling away.

The front door shut and Elizabeth started exploring the cabin. She frowned, realizing John had deposited his bag in what she considered the nicer room. It had a fireplace as well as a sitting area with a sofa. There was a large picture window near the sofa that framed the small clearing behind the chalet, edged with enormous evergreens. She'd stumbled into a real life winter wonderland. She retrieved her bag and placed it next to his, deciding he could move his things later.

After a luxurious shower, she dried her hair and changed into comfortable lounging clothes, soft fleece pants and a supple tee shirt. She was just shoving her feet into the thickest socks imaginable when someone pounded on the front door.

She practically ran towards the door. She'd been drooling at the thought of wine since she'd been pinned under John in the snow earlier. Her body still hadn't recovered and she felt quite sure her personal physician back in DC couldn't have written her a prescription as soothing as a glass of cabernet.

A jolt of cold steel penetrated her veins when she opened the door. Rodney McKay and Jennifer Keller came stumbling through, laden with baggage.

"Elizabeth, thank goodness." McKay dropped his bags. "I couldn't believe our luck when we got John on the phone. The roads are atrocious and Jen and I have been looking for a hotel room for over an hour. Everything is booked and all the restaurants are closed. I'm starving."

Jennifer winced at Rodney's brash intrusion. "Elizabeth, I am so sorry, but he's right. We were heading towards my father's, he'd rented a cabin for the holidays to be closer to us. The roads have gotten too dangerous and all the hotels are sold out. John said we could stay with you."

"Of course it's fine." Elizabeth patched together her most welcoming smile.

"Hey, don't you have any food?" McKay had found his way to the kitchen and was now poking into the empty cabinets in horror.

"John went to the market for food before it closes, hopefully I didn't make a mistake letting him go without me."

Elizabeth suddenly wondered what John would return with. Power bars for the next few days sounded anything but appetizing. Hopefully, he would at least some good wine. She directed Rodney and Jennifer to the second bedroom and left them to settle in.

Thirty minutes later….

"Honey, I'm home!" John threw the door open and the icy breeze took Elizabeth's breath away.

"Honey?" McKay cackled. "Elizabeth pretended it was a misunderstanding when we noticed both of your luggage was stored in one bedroom. Nice try."

Elizabeth ignored the look of surprise in John's eyes. Maybe he hadn't expected McKay so soon. Maybe it was the luggage remark, but she could explain that later. Now, she just wanted to run her hands through John's snow dusted hair and kiss the cold from his wind stung cheeks. Her heart ached with regret. They'd been so close to…more, before reality had crashed in along with Rodney and Jennifer.

Clint clambered in behind John laden with more bags. He stomped the snow from his boots.

"Dude, all right. Time to party." Clint began shrugging the bags off his arms. "My lady should be here any minute."

"John." Elizabeth grabbed his shoulder pulling him to the side.

"Elizabeth, what was I supposed to do?" John took a step closer and lowered his voice. "The hotels are full and they couldn't stay out on the roads. I can sleep on the couch. You take the master and they can have the spare bedroom."

Elizabeth's heart was heavy with a disappointment she wasn't entirely sure she could explain to John.

"John, it was the right thing to do. It's just that you seemed upset. I'd hoped, oh, never mind. Did you get any wine?"

As it turned out, John had struck gold. Benton's Market had a full Christmas dinner available for purchase. Some unlucky soul hadn't been able to manage the roads to pick it up their order. They feasted on honey glazed ham, rosemary potatoes, asparagus and sourdough rolls. There was even a rich chocolate torte for desert.

Hours later six bodies were sprawled across the living room of the chalet, still trying to recover from the enormous meal. Rodney and Jennifer were on the couch. Clint and his lady Casey were nestled snugly in the oversized chair, each set of couples engaged in quiet conversation. She and John had settled on the rug nearby the fireplace.

She sipped her wine and watched John fling small chunks of wood into the fire. Slowly over the past hour, his smile had faded and he'd grown quiet. She reached out to his shoulder allowing her fingers to gently trail down the slope of his back. His eyes slanted towards her holding a flicker of surprise. Rodney's laughter suddenly filled the room, somehow breaking the moment. John's lips pressed together and he pulled away. He pushed himself up from the floor, dusting the chips of wood from his lap.

"All right, ya'll. Time for me and my babe to call it a night." Clint said, pulling Casey to her feet.

Casey was much more eloquent than Clint. "We're cooking a big breakfast at the main house in the morning. We'd love for you to join us."

"Thank you, Casey." Jennifer chirped. "We'd love to."

"And I love that it's time for bed." Rodney's eyebrows wiggled up and down suggestively.

Uhhh. Elizabeth was very glad the bedrooms were on opposite sides of the chalet. She stood up and stretched her stiff limbs gingerly, her eyes following John as he restlessly moved around the chalet.

They said their goodnights and Elizabeth moved towards the bedroom while John showed Clint and Casey out.

A moment later John entered the bedroom and grabbed his bag before swiftly turning back towards the door.

"John, wait." Elizabeth was almost certain that Rodney's arrival had caused his sudden crash back to reality, but she wasn't ready to let this opportunity slip through their fingers. She needed to stall him. There were things that needed to be said and she was struggling to find the right words. "Will you light the fireplace?"

John looked at her strangely, but dropped his bag. He methodically stacked the wood and a moment later, crimson flames roared to life. He picked his bag up again and turned to leave. He paused in the door frame without looking back. "Need anything else?"

"More wine. Maybe more company." His kiss had left her breathless just hours ago and now he was ready to bolt. "Where are you going?"

"Living room. The couch." He was purposely avoiding her eyes.

"What happened to the man that tackled me in the snow today, the man that scorched my lips?" Elizabeth slowly crept towards him. "Is it Rodney and Jen? They assumed we were together, John, with very little fuss and absolutely no surprise. They don't care."

"You seemed pretty unhappy I invited them over. I thought you were the one slamming on the breaks."

"I was disappointed, John. I knew with them around it would be harder to let ourselves get carried away."

His head cocked sideways, but he still didn't turn around.

"John, will you look at me?" Elizabeth reached out and took the bag out of his hand. She carried as far away from the door as she could, placing it by the huge picture window. "If you didn't notice earlier, I liked carried away. A lot."

He turned slowly towards her. "Then tell me to stay." John met her eyes with a ferocity that took her breath away. He crossed the room to her side.

A flare of lights suddenly blazed from behind him. She peered over his shoulder. Outside the window, one of the giant evergreens was now glistening brightly, completely covered in holiday twinkle lights. She'd gotten her Christmas tree after all. She raised her eyes back to John and he skin hummed pleasantly with anticipation. Thank you, Santa, she thought.

Her hands went to John's sides and stroked along the sides of his ribs. "Stay." She whispered.

The antique clock in the living room chimed softly and she glanced to the clock on the on the bedside table. Midnight. "Merry Christmas, John."

His lips brushed against hers too softly and she whimpered in protest when he pulled away too soon. "Merry Christmas…babe."

A/N: Merry Christmas to all ya'll, babes and dudes alike, lol. Hope you enjoyed!