Title: A Snow Day

Author: dokushoka79

Rating: G

Spoilers: Up to Recreation Category: General

Summary: A sister and brother moment. Disclaimers: Joan of Arcadia and characters belong to Barbara Hall, CBS and Sony Pictures. This is for pure entertainment. No profit being made.

Dedication: To the snow storm that is plaguing my life at the moment and to AL just because she's soo cool!

A/N: I was supposed to post this before the new episode came out.but I type slow lol! ^_^ sigh.enjoy! State of Grace really got me emotional.sniff sniff. Feedback: I'll take any. ^_^ you can email me as well at dokushoka79@yahoo.com *************************************************************

A Snow Day

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"Did I ever tell you that I liked snow?" I huffed as I continue to shovel snow away from the driveway.

"No, I don't think you ever have." Luke huffs back at me.

"Okay then, I will go on the record right now that I do not like snow." I shout over my shoulder. My hands were numb with cold and the snow was soaking into my boots.

We've been shoveling snow out of the drive way for the last hour. But it seems like it's been longer! This is not how I wanted to spend my Saturday morning. We had a snow storm blow in over the last two days and it's incredible what two days worth of snow can accumulate to. It's a good thing it has stopped snowing now. It wouldn't sit well with me if we were doing this while it was still snowing. The sun was actually out, peeking through from the patches of clouds. But it's still mostly grey.

Before this snow storm and all the snow shoveling, I believed that snow was beautiful. I've seen breathtaking pictures of snow covered mountain tops and trees and fields blanketed with it. Snow is beautiful to look at and even looking out onto our yard this morning I was caught by how beautiful and pure the untouched snow had looked. It gives you a serene feeling of knowing that you have your own piece of perfection right outside the door. But it's a different thing altogether when you're outside in the freezing temperature shoveling the freezing snow off so we can see our driveway.

I survey our progress and I'm quite satisfied with what I see. We're almost done, just need to clear out a little more at the farther end where Luke was at. I start to walk towards him and right when I get near him I feel myself slip across an icy patch and I plow right into Luke with a scream. We both end up on the pile of snow that Luke had been shoveling aside.

We are both laughing as we struggle to get up. But we just give up as I slip again and I push at Luke sending us back down in the snow. So we are now lying on our backs in the snow. As we continue to laugh at each other I begin thinking about the last time Luke and I spent some quality time with each other. A time like this where we are both laughing together and in this moment carefree. We are only a year apart and growing up we were playmates. We used to be close to one another but as we grew older our interests led us into different paths. It made me sad all of sudden. I don't really know Luke. I know he's a big science geek because just can't stop talking about it. Besides that I don't know much else about him. I think back to what God taught me about observing and being consciously aware of those around me.

I'm not saying that I think Luke is danger of going over the deep end but I realize that I want Luke to know that he's not alone here. I know that I get lost in the day to day things and I forget about the connection that I have with my family. I just take it for granted that they know that I love them. With Luke, I want him to know that even though I say he cramps my style or that he's a science geek.I still love him because he is my brother.

Luke chuckles one more time and then he looks over at me "I guess gracefulness isn't in your thing huh sis."

"Ha ha" I answer back and I decide to tease him a bit "Graceful huh?" stressing the "Grace" part. He looks away from me and sighs. I hit a sore point but I press on extending sisterly concern.

"So, how are things on that end? Not that I really want to know about your love life, just curious is all." I say trying to keep it light.

Luke looks at me a little surprised which makes me feel bad that I didn't take interest on him before. I see the uncertainty in his eyes but after a few more moments he answers "Well, things are." he pauses. "Things are nothing right now. I feel like there's something there but it just might be one sided. Whenever I'm near her all I can think about is her and wanting to stay near her. But she's always pushing me away. Running away is more like it. What do you think I should do about it? You're her friend and all.do you think I have a chance or should I just move on?"

I'm unsure of what to say to him. I can understand his dilemma but I am unsure about Grace's feelings for him so I can't answer that question for him. So I tell him "You just have to follow your heart on this. I don't know what Grace feels but stay true to what you feel and what you think is right. Whether you give up or not is on you. But don't give up without trying."

We stay quiet and continue to lay side by side on the snow each in our own thoughts. But then I feel snowflakes falling onto my face and seeping into my jacket so I sit up. "Okay, let's get up before we end up snow men." I tell him. Luke smiles at me and gets up. He extends his hand out to help me up and I take it. As he shakes and dusts off the snow on him, I bend down and grab a handful of snow. I begin to inch away from him before I call out "Hey Luke!" And as he looks up at me I throw the snowball at him hitting him right on the chest. Then I run as fast as I across the yard.

"Oh, you are soo gonna get it Joan!" he shouts at me as he crouches down to pack some snow. Soon we are in a huge snowball fight. It brings back good memories of when we were younger.

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From inside the house, Helen is leaning against the window pane watching her two youngest children. She has a soft look in her eyes as she smiles at their antics. She continues to watch them for a little while longer, letting them enjoy themselves. Then she pushes herself off from where she was reclining and heads outside to the porch to call them in with the promise of hot cocoa with marshmallows.

*The End*