Christmas was almost over, and Stephanie was almost sorry for that. She was having a genuinely good time, sans the fact that she was wrestling with quite a few feelings. She kept unconsciously touching the chain dangling around her neck, feeling the small bumps in it. She loved the thing so much, and she was realizing that she liked the fact he went out of his way to get it for her more then the gift itself.

She sort of tuned out the conversation that was going on; it had no relevance to her anyway. She started remembering the first time she had met him; when she first saw him. It was so long ago. She kept remembering the crush, the realization that she found him more then attractive. Was that just childhood hormones? He was an older person; kids were supposed to have crushes like that. But she wasn't a little kid anymore.

And she was feeling the same sort of butterflies that she had the first time he smiled at her. She was an adult, and she was being affected like that. She wasn't supposed to feel that way with him, it was almost like it was forbidden. She was married, and moreover, even if she weren't, what would people say if she dated a wrestler like him?

It would be the like I was dating Andrew all over again. She sighed gently, her memories flushing back to her of that time in her life. She wasn't really happy back then either, but she was a lot happier with him then she ever was with Hunter. Now it was different, because Chris wasn't the type of person Andrew and Hunter were. He spit on authority. He liked her for her, or at least that's what she hoped. No, she knew it, because he had a certain look that she never saw before from anyone, and it took her until now that it was a look of at the least friendship. You couldn't make that look up.

"Hey look!" she was shaken from her thoughts and suddenly found something dangling over her head. Where'd that come from? She looked up at it, almost dreamily, wondering what it was. And then it hit her, and she felt almost panicked.

She was going to kill Luke.

Mistletoe. It was on a fishing line. It was over her head. Even worse, though, it was over Chris's too. She felt her face flush, and a lump rise in her throat. She wouldn't be able to take any sort of bodily contact with Chris at this point; she knew she was too unstable. "Chrissy has to kiss her—" Luke chuckled. She saw Chris shoot him a glare. Stephanie felt almost a little better after she realized most of the family was gone but a choice few, and she had no clue where they were right then and could care less.

He looked at her, trying to read her expression. Stay cool, Stephanie, its just a little kiss, right? Nothing to it. I've kissed people before. "Well, I guess it is tradition." She managed to squeak, feeling awkward, nervousness coursing through her veins. Her heart was beating wildly at that point, but she chose to ignore it; it would only make her think against what she was allowing. He nodded, lightly, still watching her.

"Dude, just kiss all ready!" the incentive was made, and she herself pulled him closer, pressing her lips against his. The moment was euphoric; she didn't want it to end, she didn't want to go back to the real world. But then she pulled away, her mind taking control, and she found herself suddenly feeling sick and giddy at the same time. She couldn't hide it from herself anymore; because what she felt was unlike anything she had gone through in her life. It was such a blissful, happy feeling; it scared her.

She had to get some air; had to gain some sanity back. "I—um, I'll be right back." She said, standing up stiffly, feeling dizzy, her face visibly pale. She walked away, leaving the inhabitants of the room to watch her leave. She didn't know where to go, so she went outside, not caring that it was dark and she didn't have a coat. She had to get away from it; if she didn't, she would go truly insane. She shivered, walking out a little from the house, hugging her own waist in an attempt to stay warm.

It was like the ground dropped out from under her, and it was almost like a dream when she felt herself tumble down roughly. Her body was being beaten up, but she didn't feel it. Her mind was just numb. She finally stopped rolling, and that's when she realized what had happened, and where she was. She winced, sitting up, noting she was unhurt besides a small gash in her arm, but she knew that it didn't matter as much as the fact that she couldn't see the house anywhere. When it finally sunk in, she quickly understood that if someone didn't come looking for her, she was going to freeze to death.

"Help!" she cried, but it was to deaf ears. She remembered that she was around snow, too, and stopped screaming, fearing her voice would create an avalanche that would push her further away.

All right, gotta think—Daddy taught me how to deal with fires, earthquakes, bombs—but never getting lost in the fucking Canadian wilderness! Why didn't he ever teach me anything important!? She felt the cold stinging her skin, and she knew it was all ready starting. She was shivering. The snow had soaked her clothing very nicely. Great, I'm going to be an icicle by the time someone finds me—and how nice, the snow all ready helped me along.

Stephanie kept looking up, hoping to see light, see something. The minutes clicked by, and nothing came, and she was getting colder. She knew if she moved, she would probably get even more lost, so she tried to remain calm and stayed where she was. She glanced around in the dark, noting it was all flat around her. Thinking back, she suddenly remembered a book she read.

With shaking hands, she began to dig wildly, making a small hole she could fit herself in that was deep enough. A few minutes later, she was just a little warmer, because the deeper you were in the ground, the warmer you were. Her hands felt like ice, and she wondered if she had hypothermia yet. She huddled into the fresh dirt, trying to warm up her hands which were the worst off by keeping them near her body. She kept fingering that necklace around her neck, keeping her hands moving, trying to make it so that they didn't freeze on the spot.

And then she heard a voice after who knew how long, and her heart fluttered to life after it's slow, dull beat took over. She sat up, stiffly, looking up to see a light above. She would have cried out in joy if she didn't think her tears would freeze. "Over here! Help!" she screamed, not caring anymore. The light moved right at her, the blaring light hitting her eyes, making her squint. The light was moving towards her in a different way, and it was moving fast too.

"Stephanie!" She knew the voice, and didn't care at that moment at all; it could have been Santa Claus and she would have been happy.

"Chris—" her voice was cracked with relief as he quickly approached her, scooping her up in a hug. She hugged back, not caring anymore about her insanity, because he was what she wasn't; he was warm.

"You feel like ice." He pulled his coat off, putting it around her. "I've got to get you back." He stood up, picking her up easily. She didn't make a fuss, she didn't care how she got back at that point. She just wanted to be inside. She curled against his chest, trying to soak in the heat coming off of his body.

It took 5 minutes to get back to the house, and when she got in she felt the heat blast her. She felt like she was in heaven. In a very warm heaven. She didn't care that people were around her, she just closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of the air hit her, enjoyed the covers put around her. It was sort of like a dreamy blur, all of it. It was 2 hours more until she regained full consciousness, and she realized quickly that she had been saved from hypothermia, and knew if she was out there any longer then she was, she probably would be in the hospital.

Instead, the first thing she saw was Chris, who was watching her intently, and almost jumped when she moved her head to look at him. She blinked, slowly, trying to comprehend what had just happened to her; comprehend how he had just saved her life once again. "Are you all right?"

"Yes." She responded, dully, her eyes never leaving his. She suddenly felt scared again, but this time she was fully aware of the fact that she just didn't care anymore. She sat up, her bones letting out a little crack. She was really stiff at that point. But she was warm. She could feel her fingers and toes. This was a good sign.

"Please don't do that to me again." He suddenly said. She looked at him again, and realized that he was shaking. He wasn't shaking from the cold, she quickly realized. He was shaking because she had just scared him shitless. She suddenly felt horrible, because she only then noticed how ragged his voice had sounded.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, not knowing what else to say.

"I looked for you for 2 hours." He explained, biting his lip. "I thought you—and when I found the necklace I—"

"What do you mean, found the necklace?" she asked. She touched her neck, and realized it wasn't there. "Wait, no, I had it with me—when I was down there—it was the thing that kept my hands moving."

"I found it near the top of that hill." He shook his head. Was I hallucinating? "Here." He put it in her normal colored hands. "The chain was broken, but my mom fixed it."

"Thanks." She sighed, putting it around her neck again. He watched her.

"It really does look nice on you." He complimented dumbly. She knew he didn't know what to say, but she also knew it wasn't an empty compliment.

"Yeah, I think so too." She responded lightly. And then he came out with it.

"What the hell possessed you to go running outside?" he asked. "I mean, yeah, I suck at kissing but—"

"Can we not talk about it?" she asked, hopeful, but knew he wanted an answer. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"This is one of those days that I sort of need to know why you almost killed yourself." He responded, just like she knew he would.

"I guess the kiss just sort of freaked me out a little." She sighed.

"Stephanie, I even asked you if you wanted to do it, I didn't—" he started to point out.

"I know you didn't," she interjected. "But I did." He looked confused at first, like he didn't understand what she meant. But then it hit him, and he sort of looked at her in shock, like he couldn't believe it. "I didn't want to want it, and I still don't but—listen, just forget it, all right?" He was silent for a moment.

"You know, when I found out you went outside, I got really scared, because I knew you knew nothing about how my backyard was, and how big it was. Then when I didn't see you—I just realized something." He paused, looking at her pointedly. "You mean everything to me." She was taken aback by his sincerity, how his voice was so full of emotion, how piercing his gaze was. "I love you."

She felt her heart leap up into her throat. He had said the words she always wanted to hear from him, the words that she also dreaded for the same reasons. She didn't know what to say, her mind told her not to be stupid, that she was married and that this was all wrong, but everything else was telling her to just admit it, to go with her true feelings. "I know it's insane, I know because I didn't want to say anything either, but after tonight—when I thought I lost you—it was like my whole world crumbled around me. I would have searched for you until even I fell to hypothermia if I had too."

"Chris—don't do this to me." She managed to whisper. "I don't know if I can take this—"

"Tell me you don't feel the same, and I will stop." He responded lightly. She looked at him, knowing she would have to decide in seconds what she wanted to follow. She looked into his eyes, her mind slipping back to that first meeting, and she found herself wanting to do what she had wished to do when she was only thirteen. That was how she ended up deciding.

She pulled him closer to her, into a deep kiss. He did nothing to stop her.