My scarf was wrapped around my head several times and I pulled it up until it rode just under my eyes. The snow fell down around us in a heavy cloud and it muted the sounds of the city. If not for having half-frozen feet, it might have been nice.

"I used to love watching the snow come down," Sara said, her scarf muffling her voice.

Her steps slowed down as her cane kept catching in piles of the heavy snow. My own speed lessened to match hers. Along the way, I made sure to check every shadow and dark corner for surprises that might be waiting for us.

"I like how it makes the city quieter."

As we neared the street, my body stiffened. This was dangerous territory out here as far as I was concerned, and not somewhere I ever went lightly.

"Michael, I'm going to need you to be my eyes in order to get across the road rather than walking all the way down to the cross-walk."

"Of course. What do you need me to do?"

"Give me your elbow. When it's clear, pick a path across for us."

She held out her left hand and I moved around to that side of her and pushed my elbow into her palm. Her fingers squeezed around my arm as she gripped it tightly. I took a step forward and made sure to keep that arm steady for her. She shuffled a little closer to me before matching my step. Even though we were both bundled against the weather, having someone so close to me without violence involved seemed different.

At the edge of the street, I stopped and looked carefully before taking a step off the curb. This street hadn't been cleared yet and only a few people walked with their heads down along the sidewalks. I led her quickly across until we approached the lip of the sidewalk.

"Curb coming up."

"Just step up. I can feel the shift in your body as you move."

"Oh. That makes sense."

My feet shuffled to a stop once we gained the sidewalk and I turned my head towards her.

"Which way now?"

"Go right. It's called Secure Plus and should be about a block down the street."

A street light stood next to the sign for the place and it touted the fact that there was twenty-four hour access and single floor units. I strode off towards that beacon. A movement across the street caught my eye and I stiffened for a moment as I assessed the threat. If Sara felt my muscles bunch under her hand, she didn't say anything, but the breath I had been holding was released. Two people walked across the street from us and they were just as bundled up as Sara and I. As I watched them, I realized that for once I could pass as 'normal' under these conditions.

Fear of discovery, of being noticed, was a constant thing and it usually kept my head down, but now I could take the time to really look about me. My eyes peered into darkened store windows, not afraid of my reflection being seen by anyone since all they would see was a heavily bundled up person. My hands were in my pockets and I had a woman on my arm. I looked like I belonged and it had my thoughts whirling into dangerous territory.

The snow flickered in the lamplight as we approached the storage place. I stopped and gazed about, but the couple from earlier were far away from us now.

"We're here. What now?"

"Go to the gate. I need to input the access code and then we can head to my unit." Her words were muffled by her scarf, but we were close enough together that I heard her.

It only took a moment for me to spot the panel she needed to get to and I set off towards it. I angled us such that she would be directly in front of it and stopped once more.

"It's right in front of you, Sara."

Her hand fell off my arm and groped for the panel. Using her teeth, she stripped off that glove and felt along the keypad and after a moment she pushed a series of numbers. My eyes searched for what trick she used to know where the numbers were, but then I noticed that there were faint bumps on every button. No wonder she used this place. The gate clicked open and her gloveless hand latched onto my arm once more. The sight of her glove dangling between her teeth had me chuckling, and I carefully plucked it out of her mouth and tucked it into my pocket.

"I'll hold onto it for you."

"Thanks. It didn't taste real good."

I snorted a soft laugh. "I bet I can give you a whole long list of stuff that tastes worse."

Her laughter had me smiling into my scarf. "I am so not taking that bet."

The gate swung open and it pushed a pile of snow in front of it as we walked through.

"Go to the second row of units and it's the fifth one on the right," she said before I could ask.

Back here, away from the street, it was even quieter. The faint sounds of trucks on other streets could be heard, but mostly it was the sound of our breath and the shuffling of our feet in the snow that filled my ears. My steps were sure as I led us to her unit and I stopped us in front of a padlock on a large roll up door.

"We are in front of the door with a lock on it."

The loss of her hand on my arm should have been a relief, but I found I sort of missed it. I shook my head, trying to scatter the dangerous thoughts that were gathering in there. I already had too much on my plate to dwell on what ifs. When my eyes focused once more, Sara already had the door unlocked. I stepped forward and lifted the gate. The light from the complex allowed me to see well enough inside the dark room to spot the switch on the wall. I reached over and flicked it up and an overhead light illuminated the area. A few pieces of furniture were stacked about, but mostly there were boxes, lots of them.

"The light is on. What are we looking for?"

Sara's cane clicked as she moved towards the right side of the room.

"I can't remember if the lawyer said things were identified by whom it belonged to, or where it came from."

I moved to the first stack and discovered that they all had been labeled neatly in thick, dark letters. Well, that would make it a little easier. My eyes glanced over as I broke down the first stack to find Sara wandering about the space, running her ungloved hand along the pieces of furniture.

"Hey, do you want your glove back?"

"Sure."

I put down the box I had just pulled down and wove through the stacks until I stood in front of Sara. I didn't dare touch her hand with mine so I lifted her arm at the elbow and dropped the glove into her waiting hand. Her small sigh at my obvious avoidance of touching her hand had me flinching a little. It was better for both of us this way, even though a part of me wanted to see if she could accept me for what I was. However, a different part of me was selfish and didn't want to take a chance on losing what was quickly becoming, if nothing else, an ally. Glove delivered, I returned to the box I had just pulled down.

The second pile of cartons finally yielded a possibility. The box said Joshua Russell. I paused and glanced up to spot Sara sitting on an ornate chair with her feet propped up on a stack of cartons.

"Joshua? Was he your father?"

"Yeah. You find a box?"

"Yep. Do you want to -"

"No, you open it and see if there is anything you can use in it."

I ripped the tape off and opened it up. Suits of various colors were neatly folded on top. Pulling those out, I dug deeper in. Below were dress shirts, also not useful, at least to me. I carefully returned everything in the box and moved on. My search seemed to be futile as nothing of use had been found yet and my feet were quickly becoming like blocks of ice. I found another carton labeled with her father's name and pulled the tape off in one long rip. My lips curved into a smile at what lay on top.

"Yes!"

"What?" Sara said as she climbed to her feet.

"Did your dad have a heavy jacket that was kind of long?"

"Oh! You found his winter trench coat! He loved that thing, said it made him feel like a private eye."

I pulled it out. The sheer weight of it told me that it would be a helluva lot warmer than my current one, and I stripped it off and hoped that my string of good luck would hold and it would fit. It slid easily across my shoulders and fell just past my knees. The thick lining blocked the cold that surrounded us and I felt more comfortable than I had since we left Sara's place. I pulled it closed and used the belt to hold it together.

"So?"

"It's perfect."

"Good! Find anything else?"

"Still gotta go through the rest of the box. I had to get the coat on first."

My attention turned back to the carton that had given me one good thing and hoped I could find more. Jackets of all sorts had lain below the one I was wearing, and next up were hats and other outerwear. I dug through it and finally found a pair of mittens, but one look at them and I knew my hands were never going into them. I dropped them back down and dug down to the shoes just underneath. Winter boots, something wide enough to stuff my feet into, that was really the last thing I absolutely needed. Most were dress shoes of various colors and styles, and I burrowed through them until my fingers touched something heavier. I grabbed hold of it and pulled out my prize. A soft laugh left me as I gazed on a heavy winter boot. I dove back into the carton, looking for its twin, and after some digging I finally found it. Even better, they were the type you pulled on.

I shoved first one foot in and then the other. Her father may have had smaller hands than me, but luckily for me, his feet had been bigger. They were a little too long, but were wide enough, which was the more important thing. My feet were still cold when I put them on, but at least they had dried out from our time in her unit so I left them on for our walk back.

"I took a pair of boots. Thanks, and my feet really thank you."

Sara laughed. "Good. Let's go home. How do waffles sound for breakfast?"

"You cooked last night. Why not just eat the leftovers?" I asked as I moved to her side. It seemed like a waste of time to make something new; hell, I normally couldn't afford to go hunting food during the day. I couldn't risk being seen, which is why I turned to studying the magazines I had scavenged during the night. They helped to distract me from my hunger while I waited for the sun to go down.

She must have felt the brush of me next to her, because she quickly latched onto my arm, and once more, I turned us towards the exit so we could begin our journey back to her place.

"That was dinner. Besides, I have leftover waffle batter from yesterday's breakfast. Cooking is sort of therapeutic for me, and it's nice to have someone to share it with."

"Never had those before, but they sound good."

Her snort of laughter had me smiling. "I should have told you they were waffle tartlets just to see what you would say."

"I'd have to tell you that the name was just wrong," I replied with my own laugh.

Outside the storage unit, the snow tapered off to just a few flakes that drifted down. Our trip back to the apartment, at least for me, would be warmer.

~Another thank you to Mordinette for all her help as my beta and another to Scribbledincrayon for her suggestions. Thanks, Ladies! Another thank you to the readers, I'm happy you are enjoying this!~