Okay. I KNOW this was supposed to be a Christmas fic. And it still WILL be, but life is just crazy for me right now. So I've decided I will write what I can when I can (as I truly feel like I'm being starved if I go for long periods of time without it! Writing feeds my soul). That goes for ALL of my fics. I'll make steady progress on each of them, so as to get them all eventually completed.

So back to THIS one- it will be long past the holidays before it's done, but I figure if you're interested in it, you'll read it regardless. (Hey, IM 3 was supposed to be set during Christmas, and it was released in May of that year. So I figure I can pull a Shane Black and follow suit.)

So, if you DO stay interested in it, let me know! Same goes for my other works in progress, as well. Your support keeps the creative fires burning, and I am eternally grateful for it.

So without further ado...

Happy Reading :D

Not long after, they'd agreed that, if they were to be holed up in this cabin until the blizzard passed, which could be days, they would have to take inventory of everything they had at their disposal to be comfortable and somewhat well fed for the foreseeable future. Tony agreed to bring a big pile of wood in from outside, as well as look around for any other implements that might be of use to them, and Pepper agreed to assess what was in the kitchen to try to put together some type of meal plan.

Tony had found a heavy flannel-lined tan-colored canvas jacket, a pair of leather work gloves, and a navy blue stocking cap in the master bedroom closet. The only thing missing was decent shoes with which to trek out in the snow. Unfortunately, the only pair of boots he found were several sizes too small, which left him relegated to wearing his Italian leather dress shoes in which he'd attended the party at the ski resort. Not ideal, he admitted. But they were better than nothing, none the less.

He quickly dressed and went outside, brushing back the piling snow stacked against the front door with his foot so it didn't topple inside and make a puddle on the floor.

Meanwhile, Pepper was working in the kitchen. She opened each of the cabinets that contained food, and began collecting all of the items she found, including flour and sugar, and the few spices she found above the stove on a small shelf. All in all, she found two cans of creamed corn, two cans of kidney beans, one can of fruit cocktail, a small container of coffee grounds, a quarter-full bag of flour, a bag of sugar only 1/3 of the way full, a tub of vegetable shortening, and the few condiments in the door of the refrigerator- most of which were nearly empty. She looked around at their small stockpile of supplies, and sighed, with a frown. "Well, it's sparse. But it's a start, anyway," she muttered to herself.

She'd hoped to find some variety of protein in the freezer, but it was completely cleared out, save for a half-full ice cube tray. She glanced over to the window, and looked out to the river in thought. Luckily, it moved with a swift current, so the water was flowing freely, and not iced over like the inlets were. She hadn't been fishing since she was a child, and wondered how adept she and Tony would be at catching fish, if it came to that. (And, by the looks of it, it would, sooner or later.) She wondered if he'd found any fishing poles in his search. Otherwise, they'd have to engineer something that could either hook or trap passing fish. And at a pretty efficient pace, she deduced. If they were going to make the journey from the cabin back toward the highway in a few days, they'd have to have all the strength they could gather for walking in what she could only guess was going to be waist-deep snow- a task that would require a lot of strength and stamina. And if they didn't have the energy reserves they needed, the elements could prove to be a tough challenge to overcome. Deadly, in fact.

Just then, she heard Tony come in, stomping the snow from his feet. She rushed to greet him, as she knew he'd have the first stack of wood in his arms, and would need help getting it to the hearth to stack. He smiled when he saw her.

She smiled back, and began taking the wood from him and stacking it in her own arms, piece by piece.

"That snow is already pretty deep, just from last night," he commented.

"Mmm hmmm. I bet," Pepper replied, as she turned to walk toward the fireplace.

She quickly returned to grab the remainder. "How's it coming?" he asked, nodding toward the kitchen.

Pepper shrugged. "It's meager, I'll say that," she reported, taking the rest of the wood out of his arms and to the hearth, and then coming back to face him again.

Tony furrowed his brow. "Like how meager are we talkin'?" he asked.

"Well, the pancake mix is gone, and the flour is in short supply, so we won't be able to just live on pancakes for the next few days. Which leaves us with a few cans of creamed corn..."

Tony made a face. "Bleck," he said, grimacing.

Pepper smiled at him wryly. "Well, you might not be thinking that when it's the only thing left," she replied.

He cocked an eyebrow. "It's that bad?" he asked trepidatiously.

"Well, besides the corn, we've got a can of fruit cocktail, some canned kidney beans, and a tub of vegetable shortening, the rest of what you found for coffee grounds, some cooking spices, and the few nearly-gone condiments in the fridge," she reported.

Tony exhaled, and worked his jaw in thought.

"As I said, it's meager. I was hoping to find some variety of protein in the freezer, but..."

"The river, " Tony said softly, shifting his eyes out the window.

Pepper nodded. "That's what I was thinking, too," she commented. "You didn't happen to run across a fishing pole, did you?"

Tony pursed his lips and shook his head, keeping his gaze outside. "Nope. No such luck," he said.

"Damn," Pepper said with disappointment.

"Lemme, uh... lemme work on that, Pep," Tony said thoughtfully, narrowing his eyes. "I might be able to rig up...something."

Pepper brightened. "I was hoping you'd say that," she replied.

Tony gave her a cocky smirk. "Why? Were you worried?" he purred in a gravelly rumble, pulling her to him from around the waist. "Worried I'd let us starve? With a river that's probably full of fish right outside our window? Hmmm? Come on, Potts. Give me a little credit," he teased, with a playful sparkle in his eyes.

Pepper giggled and bit her lip, letting him pull her into his arms, feel the crisp chill on him from being outside until the welcome warmth of his clothed chest was exposed from under the jacket, warming her body as well. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, feeling the lingering chill on his lips and cheeks as well. She felt him pull off his gloves, dropping them to the floor to rub his hands up and down her back affectionately.

"Oooh, you're cold," she purred when the kiss broke, cupping his frost-reddened cheeks in her hands and brushing the tip of his nose with hers, feeling that that was cold, too.

"Mmmm hmmmm, I know. But you are doing a tremendous job of warming me up, right now," he purred back.

They both giggled, and Tony pecked her lips once more before resting his forehead on hers. "We'll be fine. You know that, right?" he asked hopefully, his voice soft and encouraging.

Pepper looked into his eyes and nodded. "Yes," she said, though she'd hadn't been assured of that until just that moment. Something about his surety made her feel instantly comforted and at ease. Truth be told, she was actually starting to look forward to spending this time alone with Tony, even though it still felt so new and unfamiliar to even fathom that they were more than boss and employee. Not to mention that the conditions weren't ideal. She would have much rather been in this remote place by choice, and not by necessity. Food was scarce- true. And the weather was harsh. But still, she couldn't imagine being anywhere else with him right now. She only hoped this euphoria wouldn't come crashing down around her, reminding her of all the reasons why she hadn't wanted to be with Tony in the past. Euphoria, she mused. THAT'S the word of the day.

Pepper reached up, and slowly pulled the stocking cap off of Tony's head, and flinging it behind her to the floor where his gloves were. Then she began to run her fingers through his disheveled hair. He just gazed at her in adoration, loving her affection. "So, Cookie? What's on the menu tonight?" he asked.

"Kidney beans, creamed corn, and fruit cocktail, I'm afraid," she reiterated flatly.

Tony made another face in disgust. "Okay, not the most appealing thing in the world," he replied.

Pepper spluttered. "Well, then, you'd better figure out a way to catch some fish then, I'd reckon," she teased back.

" 'I'd reckon?'" he joked, with a twang in voice. "Boy, you're really getting in the the whole cookie role, aren't you? I was just kidding about..."

Pepper put a finger to his lips, and smirked at him. "Tony? Less talking. More fishing. Or...something. It looks like the daylight is starting to fade. We need to get something figured out. And soon."

Tony nodded, and broke away from their embrace. "Right," he said resolutely. "I'll finished getting the wood, and then I'll see what I can do."

Suddenly, Pepper winced in pain, and then nodded weakly in reply. She brought her fingertips to her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Uh oh," Tony muttered, looking at her in alarm. "I think that's our cue to get you back on the couch, huh?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I'm fine. And you need me to help."

"You're not fine, actually. And you need to lie down. I'm not taking no for an answer on this, Pep. So, come here," he said, sweeping her up in his arms.

Pepper squeaked in surprise, and then whimpered weakly, laying her head against Tony's shoulder as he carried her to the couch. He gingerly laid her down, and pulled the blanket over the top of her. Pepper kept her eyes closed, and muttered a soft, "Thank you."

He smiled and brushed the hair back from her face before planting a soft kiss to her forehead. "You bet. Get some rest, huh?" he murmured to her.

Pepper nodded and smiled softly, opening her eyes only briefly to acknowledge him. He smiled back, watching her intently as she closed her eyes again, and settled in to go to sleep. He waited until she dozed off, which didn't take long, and then left her side to see what he could come up with to catch dinner.

XxXxXxXxXx

Rhodey walked out of his office into the cool afternoon breeze as pulled his phone away from his ear for what seemed to be the millionth time in the last 24 hours. It was the same thing yet again- both Tony and Pepper's phones went straight to voice mail. The conference they'd gone to had ended the day before, and he was scheduled to meet up with Tony as soon as they got back. He'd met with the DOD brass while they were gone about new weapons tech Tony had proposed for the coming year, and he needed to get back to him so they could plan a delivery date. But so far, he'd had no luck even getting Tony to respond to his calls.

"This is so unlike him," Rhodey muttered. "So unlike the both of them." He frowned in thought, a knot slowly growing in his stomach at the thought that something had happened to his friends. "Calm down, man. There's gotta be a good reason for the delay," he told himself. He remembered hearing a weather report for the area, stating there would be a blizzard blowing through unexpectedly. Which meant all flights would be grounded until it passed, no doubt. "Yeah. That's all it is," he assured himself. Cell towers are knocked out by the storm or something. And they can't get reception. I'm sure they're fine, he thought. "Just fine," he muttered, trying to deny the knot of worry growing in the pit of his stomach telling him otherwise.