Good evening! Welcome to the 21st story :D Thank you so much PatriciaF, ChibiDawn23, 2NYwLove, Lizbet2008, Cheryl and Hawk for your lovely reviews :D
Hawk, I have watched Providence with Melina in, but not the episode you mention, so I'll find it and watch, thank you!
The promised snow began to fall as they pulled up alongside their cabin.
'Great timing,' Stella said to Mac thankfully as the flakes swirled down, thick and fast and he nodded.
By the time they'd taken their cases into the cabin - their home for the weekend - snow had already given the landscape a white fluffy coat and powdered their clothes. Inside, Stella lit the fire while Mac unpacked, and then joined her.
They curled up by the fire, warming their hands.
'What do we do now?' Stella asked, turning to Mac suddenly.
He shook his head, looking as lost as she did. 'I don't know.'
'This feels…'
'Strange.'
'Quiet.'
They stared at each other.
'Should we?'
'We did promise to let him know when we arrived.'
Both took out their phones and sent Flack a message, and then waited, trying not to stare at their screens until he replied.
'She'll have a fun time with Don,' Stella said, with only the trace of a question in her voice and Mac nodded.
'Of course she will. You know how much she loves spending time with Uncle Flack.'
At last their phones vibrated.
'Decorating the tree.' Mac smirked as he read Don's message, but felt his shoulders relax at the confirmation.
Stella raised her eyebrows. 'Let's hope she doesn't try and climb his.'
'It's likely not big enough,' Mac said dryly, a slight sigh following his words. 'She's grown a lot since the last tree-climbing incident.'
'Two years ago… where did that time go to?' Stella looked at him with wide eyes and Mac shook his head.
'I honestly have no idea.' He gave himself a shake. 'Speaking of time, how about we make dinner and then if the snow allows, go for a walk around the lake?'
'Perfect.' Stella smiled, with the firelight reflected in her eyes.
Dinner over, they sat in front of the fire gazing into its depths, leaning against each other.
'What do you say to a walk in the moonlight?' Mac asked after a glance through the picture window. 'I think it's stopped falling.'
'Sounds good to me.' Stella smiled and her eyes sparkled.
A little later, layered up in coats, hats, scarves and gloves they left the cabin and stepped out into a wedding cake landscape, draped in white, glistening and shimmering.
'Oh, this is glorious,' Stella said in rapture as they scrunched over the pristine snow, their breath forming gauzy clouds.
'Beautiful.' Mac's eyes stayed on Stella and he squeezed her hand, holding it tightly as they walked towards the lake
At the water's edge they stopped, arms around each other, and stood gazing across the moon-gleaming surface.
'Just us, the snow and the stars,' Stella said, turning to Mac with a glow in her eyes.
Mac leaned in and brushed her lips with his. 'Only the two of us.'
'You know… we should probably take advantage of that…' Stella caressed the back of his neck with her fingertips, his ensuing shiver having nothing to do with the snow and cold.
Hand in hand, the two of them made their way through the snow, back to the warmth of the cabin and closed the door on the world outside.
Thank you so much for reading :D Please do leave a review, they're a gift to me :D Lily x