Colleen worked with Michaela during her break from school, setting up the clinic with the new equipment as it came in. None of the patients Michaela had recently treated had gotten ill and folks from town were starting to come back slowly. The mysterious infection that had caused Michaela to lose all that she worked for appeared to be gone.

Colleen was happy for her Ma that everything seemed to be coming together and getting back to normal. Especially since Christmas was fast approaching. The family and the town needed something positive after suffering such a loss.


Colleen walked over to the Christmas service with Brian, Katie, Matthew and Sully. Michaela had stayed back at the clinic with The Reverend. He had recently lost his eye sight and was starting to lose his faith as well. It was heartbreaking for the town to see a man of God suffer without any explanation. But the town prayed together for the Reverend and decided to gather for the holiday despite his absence. If they stayed positive and kept their faith, they hoped that Reverend Johnson would as well.

Everyone was in good spirits as they entered the church. Colleen saw Andrew sitting in one of the pews. Their eyes met and Andrew mouthed "Merry Christmas" to Colleen as she grinned happily at him before heading to the front of the church to take a seat with her family. She took a peak back over her shoulder at Andrew one more time and saw he was still looking at her. Their eyes met again but Colleen didn't let the look linger. She quickly turned back around, unable to contain her smile. Since the epidemic at the clinic, she and Andrew hardly had time to spend together over her break. Andrew had helped out when The Reverend began to have trouble with his eyesight, but Colleen hadn't been there much herself. She had been busy taking care of Katie and helping the town come together to decorate for the holiday. It was nice to see that Andrew's admiration remained unchanged and was possibly growing. Perhaps absence really did make the heart grow fonder. Still, Colleen longed for time with Andrew.

Colleen's thoughts were interrupted by the start of the service. Grace sang a beautiful rendition of "Oh Night Divine" as Brian accompanied her on the piano. When she finished, Brian stepped up to the pulpit and began to read the Gospel of Luke.

The congregation's mood became sullen as they were reminded of the absence of Reverend Johnson. Brian continued on. "And the angel said unto them, fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you..." Brian paused as he heard foot steps at the entrance to the church. The congregation all turned around to see The Reverend walking in with Michaela on his arm to guide him.

The Reverend walked up towards Brian at the pulpit and took his place. He smiled despite his recent misfortunes, as he felt truly blessed at that moment to be standing in front of his congregation on Christmas day. With help from Michaela, he finally realized that God had a plan for him and that he needed to get on with his life. He closed his bible and placed his hand atop it. From memory, he recited the Gospel where Brian had left off. "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddlin' clothes, lyin' in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praisin' God, and sayin', Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will..." He paused and a smile grew across his face as he felt that a true Christmas miracle was happening. "listen..." He said. The townspeople looked around at each other, all of them quite confused. "It's snowing!" The Reverend declared!

Everyone rushed outside to see. It really was snowing! It didn't often snow there on Christmas and the town, along with the Reverend, were overjoyed with the magic of the holiday.

Andrew stood at the top of the stairs for a moment as he watched the celebration. He was proud to be a member of the Colorado Springs community and to spend his holiday with such fine people. It made him miss his family back in Boston much less. He saw Colleen twirl around with Brian as they looked up at the snow. He made his way down the stairs and over to see her. Colleen saw Andrew coming towards her and met him as he approached.

"This is really something isn't it?" Andrew said.

"It is" Colleen replied as they stared deeply into each others eyes for a bit before Colleen worked up some courage. She placed her arms around Andrew and pulled him in for an embrace and kissed him on the cheek. Then she pulled away slowly as Andrew's hands slipped into hers. "Merry Christmas Andrew!" She said softly.

"Merry Christmas Colleen" Andrew said back to her. Their words were a simple friendly greeting but both of their tones conveyed feelings that were much deeper.

Andrew nervously cleared his throat as he broke their blissful silence first. "Umm... I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately. I was uh.. hoping we'd get to visit more than we have before you go back to Denver."

Colleen was thrilled that Andrew wanted to spend time with her "I've been busy myself with the clinic and the holidays but... I think I could come by the hotel in a couple of days?"

"I'll be there" Andrew said looking at Colleen as if no one else was around. Colleen sighed with satisfaction and finally broke their gaze as she and Andrew walked together hand in hand to join their friends and family for the remainder of the holiday festivities.


A couple of days after Christmas, Colleen rode out to the hotel to see Andrew, as they had planned. It was quite cold outside and the snow had actually accumulated, making her ride take just a bit longer. She was happy to finally get inside of the hotel and warm her hands. She headed directly over to Andrew's clinic and knocked on the door before entering.

"Come in!" Andrew called out and then excitement kicked in as he saw that it was Colleen walking through the door.

"Hi Andrew!" Colleen said equally as excited to finally get some time with him.

"Hello! How are you?" Andrew asked and then became concerned when he saw Colleen rubbing her hands together, trying to warm them. "you look cold..." He said

"Yes, a bit. It's freezing outside!" Colleen declared.

"Oh" Andrew said looking a bit disappointed.

"Is something wrong?" Colleen inquired catching Andrew's look.

"It's just that... well... Preston is taking advantage of the snow and is offering scenic horse drawn sleigh rides. I thought you might be interested in going. but... if you think it's too cold... I'd understand."

Colleen could see that Andrew was really hoping that the two of them would get to go. She would feel bad saying that it was too cold. "No! We can definitely go! It sounds like fun" She said. It really did sound like fun to her, she was just a bit worried about the cold.

"We really don't have to..." Andrew said to her, not really convinced that she wanted to go.

"I want to go!" Colleen reiterated. "As long as we have plenty of blankets, I think we will be fine" She continued becoming more positive.

"Good" Andrew said grinning widely.


Andrew took Colleen's hand as he helped her up on the sleigh. Colleen had never seen such a fancy sleigh before. She was impressed that the seat was cushioned and upholstered in a red velvet. She sat down and Andrew climbed in next to her. He then grabbed a blanket and they draped it over their laps and awkwardly cozied up to each other. Neither Colleen or Andrew was exactly sure how close they should be. Andrew then threw some furs on top of the blankets as well for some extra warmth.

"Are you comfortable?" Andrew asked "Do you think you'll be warm enough?"

"I'm fine.." Colleen smiled "... I'll be fine" she said again trying to reassure a skeptical Andrew that the sleigh ride was a good idea.

Andrew smiled at Colleen and then nodded to their driver that they were all set to go.

"So how are things at your clinic? Any interesting cases?" Colleen asked as they pulled away from the hotel grounds.

"No" Andrew laughed. Not at Colleen, of course, but at his own circumstance and the lack of anything interesting going on at his clinic. "Mostly my patients come in claiming to be on their death beds. They're fatigued, have muscle soreness, and easily lose their breath. In reality, all they need is some exercise and fresh air. They thank me for saving their lives and I'm not actually treating any sort of illness."

Andrew was speaking about his patients in good humor but it was clear that he wasn't all that happy about "treating" them. Colleen half heartedly laughed. Part of her found them humorous but the other part of her felt bad for Andrew. He had so much potential, it was a shame to see his talents wasted.

The sleigh ride brought them past the gardens and through the meadow, displaying a grand view of the mountains and then onto a nearby trail.

"Everything looks to beautiful covered in the snow. It's almost magical" Colleen said looking around at the scenery.

"Yes, it does" Andrew agreed looking at Colleen and thinking about how beautiful she looked at that moment.

The temperature was dropping as the sun began to set and Colleen began to feel it. She couldn't help but shiver and Andrew noticed. He picked up another blanket and wrapped it around both their shoulders as he put one arm around Colleen, bringing her in close to him. When Colleen looked at Andrew to thank him, their eyes locked and they both grew very serious as they became aware of how close they were to one another. Their nerves began to take over. Their breath quickened and hearts raced as their lips slowly drifted towards the others.

"Do you need more blankets?" The driver asked, unknowingly interrupting a very important step in Colleen and Andrew's relationship.

They composed themselves and broke their gaze. "I think we're fine for now... thank you" Andrew replied to the driver.

They rode in silence for a bit, as Colleen and Andrew both sat thinking about what had just happened and what might have happened. Neither one could bring themselves to look back into the eyes of the other in fear of once again becoming overwhelmed by their feelings.

Finally Andrew broke the silence by placing his hand over Colleen's hands which she had folded politely in her lap. "Are your hands warm enough?" He asked concerned that her gloves weren't enough. "You wouldn't want to get frost bite. It can be quite painful!"

"I'm fine. Thank you. " Colleen said graciously. "I've actually had frostbite before. And yes, it's very painful." She shared.

"Really?" Andrew asked, urging Colleen to tell him more.

"Yeah. When I was 13. It was pretty bad. Dr. Mike wasn't sure if I would ever regain use of my hands. But I kept up with the treatments and therapies and everything turned out fine" Colleen explained and as they talked, both she and Andrew began to recover from their feelings of embarrassment over their almost kiss and settled back into the comfortable friendship that they shared.

"Wow." Was all that Andrew said as he sat admiring Colleen's bravery. He knew that the treatments for frost bite could be harsh and it took a strong person to persevere through them. "So how did you get it in the first place?" He inquired.

Colleen blushed as she recalled the situation. "I'm not sure I should tell you..."

"Why not? It's nothing bad is it?" Andrew asked a bit puzzled.

"No... It's just... It's silly..." She said laughing. Andrew realized that it wasn't anything serious and smiled at her sudden shyness. He raised his eyebrows inquisitively, urging her to tell him.

"It's just... Really embarrassing..." Colleen said, lightheartedly pleading with him to fight his need to know.

"Well now I am completely intrigued and it would be cruel of you to not let me in on your secret" Andrew told her playfully.

Colleen took a deep breath. "Fine." She said finally giving into Andrew. "But you have to promise not to tell anyone... And you can't laugh!"

Andrew was grinning with eagerness to know what Colleen's embarrassing secret was. "Well I'm not sure I can promise not to laugh but I certainly would never tell anyone if you didn't want me to"

Colleen playfully rolled her eyes at him, accepting what he said as a good enough promise in relation to the seriousness of her secret. "ok. well... I left Sully a letter telling him I was in danger and that he needed to come save me and then I hid in an old abandoned mine... Well... it turned out that Sully never received the letter and then I got trapped in the mine over night and the temperature dropped and well... Dr. Mike and Sully didn't find me until the next morning..."

"Why would you willingly put yourself in danger?" Andrew asked, perplexed.

"Well... I thought if Sully came to rescue me that it would be... romantic...?" Colleen laughed at her younger self and Andrew gave her a humored quizzical look. "This was before Dr. Mike and Sully got together and I was ...sort of sweet on him." Colleen explained as she looked at Andrew with a sheepish grin. Andrew was smiling at her, trying to hold in his laughter.

"So you were in love with Sully huh?" Andrew said and finally let out a small chuckle.

Colleen gently nudged him in a playful way "You weren't supposed to laugh!"

"Oh! I never promised that!" Andrew said and they both laughed out loud together.

Colleen loved the fact that she could share things with Andrew and that he was so easy to talk to. She was on cloud nine at the moment and more confident than ever that their relationship was headed exactly where she had hoped it would. She slipped her hand through his arm and scooted a bit closer to him. When she looked up at his reaction, he seemed satisfied. Andrew was actually very pleased that Colleen was so comfortable around him. Her level of comfort put any nerves he may have had at ease. He smiled adoringly at her and took her free hand in his. Colleen leaned her head on his shoulder and the two of them rode together happily, taking in the scenery and cherishing their time together, knowing that Colleen would soon be returning to Denver.

When they returned to the hotel, they barely got a chance to say goodbye to one another. Preston was waiting for them as they pulled up and angrily inquired where he had been and that there was a patient waiting for him. Andrew quickly apologized to Colleen and hurried off to his clinic. Colleen was disappointed that she had to leave so quickly. She and Andrew had come so close to their first kiss and if it would have happened, the night would have been perfect. Still, her evening was near perfection and she was happy with that and rode home with a smile that would be painted on her face until she departed Colorado Springs a few days later.