A/N: Thanks to everybody who reviewed. Special thanks to Kelsey, who gave me the idea for this chapter. Hope you like it!
Isabel rolled on her back, she didn't want to leave her nice, warm, comfy bed. Isabel would never admit this to anyone, but she didn't like waking up before the sun was up.
Stretching in a very cat-like way, she sat up. Looking out the window Isabel saw it was snowing and she groaned. Working when it was freezing was definitely not on her list of favorite things.
Thankfully, the phone rang just as Isabel was about to undress and get in the shower.
"Hello?"
"Isabel? Hi! It's Rusty," Isabel heard Rusty's happy voice and she couldn't suppress a smile.
"Good Morning, Mr. Ryan," Isabel said playfully.
"Are you working today?" Rusty asked her this casually, as though it was nothing.
"Why do you ask?" Isabel was somewhat suspicious, it seemed she knew he had a hidden agenda.
"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to have a snow day?" This surprised Isabel, she'd never had a snow day in her life.
"Sure, I'd love to," she told him.
"Great! Let's meet at our café at about 9:00 am, ok?" Rusty seemed excited about having a snow day. Isabel laughed.
"Alright, see you soon."
"I'll look forward to it," was the last thing Isabel heard Rusty say before he hung up.
Isabel decide she'd better call her boss and tell him she wouldn't be coming in today. She shivered as she dialed the number.
"Europol, how may I help you?" Came the female voice on the other end.
"This is Isabel Lahiri, can you please tell mister Brookes that I won't be coming in today?"
"Reason?" The voice asked.
"Excuse me?"
"What's you reason for not coming in?" The voice asked lazily.
"Oh, I'm taking a personal holiday."
"Thank you, one moment please." Isabel heard a click and then nothing. After a few minutes the voice returned.
"Mr. Brookes wants to know why you are taking a personal holiday, Ms. Lahiri."
Isabel thought for a moment before saying, "I'm sure he does, but unfortunately it's none of his business."
Smiling, Isabel put the phone down and walked back into the bathroom. She turned the shower on and undressed quickly. Before she got frostbite in unwanted areas she jumped into the shower.
"Shit! That's hot!" Isabel cried, jumping away from the water. Finally, she managed to get it to a nice temperature and resumed washing herself.
Isabel took great pleasure in dressing warmly. Clad in form fitting jeans, boots, a nice warm jacket, scarf, gloves and a cap she left her flat and headed toward the little café.
When she arrived she saw Rusty dressed for winter, sitting at their tiny table outside. When he saw her he stood and pulled out her chair.
"Thank you," Isabel said, taking her seat. As Rusty took his seat, a freezing waiter came up to them.
"Can-can I g-get you any-anything?" He shivered as he spoke.
"Two hot chocolates, please," Rusty ordered for them. The waiter hugged himself tightly as he walked away, muttering about "crazy people who sat outside when it was twenty below."
"So when was the last time you've taken a day off?" Rusty wondered.
"Never," Isabel told him.
"Never? Not once?"
"Never," Isabel repeated. Rusty was awestruck by this work-a-holic woman sitting in front of him. The waiter reappeared with their hot chocolate.
"Thank you," Isabel said, smiling at him as he placed her hot chocolate down. The waiter grunted, apparently not happy to be back outside.
Rusty sipped his drink, watching Isabel intently. Isabel raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to the side.
"D'yah like lookin' at me?" She asked. Rusty smiled. Isabel sipped her hot chocolate.
Once they were finished, the waiter came back with the bill. Rusty paid it and helped Isabel from her chair.
"So, where's a good place to make a snowman?" Rusty wondered. Isabel didn't know how to answer that question, she'd never made a snowman in her life.
"The park?" She told him, uncertainly. He laughed at the look on her face. Rusty grabbed her hand and led to the park. Isabel enjoyed having her hand held, that didn't happen very often.
When they entered the park, Rusty let go of Isabel's hand and ran to a big snow covered hill. Isabel ran after him, stopping at the foot of the hill to look up at Rusty. He grinned down at her.
"What are you doing?" Isabel asked him. Rusty bent down and scooped up some snow. He rolled it into a perfect ball, tossed it up and down a couple times, and then threw it at Isabel. It hit her smack in the face.
"Oh, Isabel," Rusty choked, laughing, "you should see your face." Isabel scooped up some snow and did the same thing Rusty did.
"Does it look something like this?" She called as she flung it at him. Rusty dodged it and ran down the hill at her. Isabel saw him running and took off. Rusty easily caught up with her and pinned her to a nearby tree. Isabel was breathing heavily, so was Rusty.
Just as Rusty leaned in to kiss her, Isabel ducked under his arms and took off again.
"Hey! Come back here!" Rusty called, chasing her again. When he finally caught up with her, he found her standing on top of the hill.
Isabel gave him a devilish grin and flung another snowball at Rusty. This one hit Rusty square in the chest. He brushed himself off and started up the hill.
"What are you going to do?" Isabel asked him, once he reached the top. Rusty smiled, and before Isabel knew it, she was rolling down the other side of the hill, clutching to Rusty. Isabel landed on her back, Rusty right on top of her.
"Gotcha." Rusty whispered. Isabel laughed. Rusty got up and helped Isabel to her feet. Rusty's clothes were soaked from rolling in the snow, and Isabel's jeans felt as though they were made of ice.
"You're soaked," she commented.
"So are you," Rusty noted.
"You want to come back to my loft, I can dry your clothes for you?" Isabel offered. Rusty smiled.
"Sure, I'd love to." Isabel led him out of the park, past the café, towards her loft.
"It's a little messy right now, I've been kinda busy," Isabel explained as she unlocked her door.
"I'm sure it looks better than my hotel room," Rusty said, laughing.
"I'll be right back," Isabel said, walking down the hallway to her bedroom, "Feel free to make yourself at home."
Rusty walked around the living room, noticing that she didn't have many pictures up. He saw one of Isabel and an older woman, that he guessed to be her mother.
"Here, you can change into these," Isabel said, walking into the living room. Rusty turned to see her holding out a long-sleeve shirt and jeans. He guessed them to be her ex-boyfriends clothes.
"Thanks," he said, taking the clothes.
"The bathrooms right over there," Isabel pointed to a door, "You can give me your clothes when you're done and I'll wash them."
"Okay," Rusty said, walking towards the bathroom. When he came back out he saw Isabel sitting on the couch, already changed.
"Here, I'll take those," she said, standing up and taking his wet clothes. She walked down the hall and disappeared into a room.
"You don't have to stand there, you know," she told him. Rusty sat down on the couch and looked at Isabel. Isabel stared intently back at him.
"I see your clothes are a bit baggy," she said, looking at the jeans Rusty was wearing.
"Yeah, I guess. Are you cold Isabel?" Rusty asked her. Isabel followed his eyes and quickly pulled the blanket tighter around herself.
"Maybe…maybe you could keep me warm."
A/N: Well what do you think? Good? Bad? Review!! By the way, did anyone catch the Darling Buds of May reference? If not, look again.