Disclaimer: You know the drill -- don't own 'em now, won't own 'em later. Although, if wishes were horses... All the original characters are based on people I know (including myself), so don't bother looking for libel issues. Enjoy:-)

Wishful Haunting

"This really doesn't look good," C.C. muttered to herself as she peered out the windshield that the wipers did their best to keep clear of the falling snow. The wind had picked up steadily since her departure from Ottawa, rendering visibility almost nonexistent. She was used to this sort of weather, no question; but the fact that she didn't know this road at all made things decidedly more dicey.

"The one time I have to be on an unfamiliar road – on Christmas Eve, no less – and I have to end up in the middle of the mother of all snowstorms. Figures," she grumbled as she leaned forward to try and see better, and of course, getting nothing whatsoever for her trouble. She hated driving in this kind of weather, even back home. She wasn't a fainting violet, by any means, but she had been in a couple of close calls before and she didn't care to repeat the experience. In hindsight, it would have been way better to simply bow out and stay home; Patricia would have understood, she felt certain. But it was going to be such a great get-together, all of them high school chums meeting up at Pat's new house in Maine for a combination housewarming-Christmas party – there was no way she could miss this!

"Speaking of missing," C.C. said to herself as she craned her neck back to try and see out the side window, "I think I just missed my exit. Shoot! I'll just have to get off at the next one – wherever that is." She drove on for another quarter mile or so, until she came upon what looked like the next exit, although it was hard to tell with the white-on-white landscape. "Okay, matey, here goes nothing." Slowing down, she took the exit and promptly felt the car slip. Remembering what her dad had told her about this sort of situation, she gradually tried to right the vehicle, but to no avail. It looked like she was stuck in a filled-in ditch – which she had mistakenly taken for the road – and there was no budging. "MERDE!" she yelled at the top of her lungs as she hit the wheel with all her might. It did nothing whatsoever to get her out of there, but it did wonders for her blood pressure. Taking a few calming breaths, she reached for her mug and took a couple sips of the lukewarm dregs of coffee left in there as she thought. Looking around was no help; there wasn't a car in sight, and what few tracks she could still make out were a few hours old, if she was any judge. Had this happened at the other exit, she might have come across some good Samaritan who could have pulled her out or called a tow truck, at the very least. As it was, she was stuck on a virtually deserted road without a cell phone. "Nice going there, Einstein," she berated herself, "nice going." Taking one more sip of the tepid java, she made a mental inventory of her emergency supplies: blanket, yep; candles, check; water, yep; a couple food bars, check… "If only I had my snowshoes," she muttered pensively, "I could probably walk back to the other exit… What am I saying? I DO have my snowshoes with me!" All but throwing her mug down, she pushed the car door open and was halfway out when her brain caught up with her. With a frustrated sigh, she sat back inside and closed the door, not even noticing that her pant leg was covered in snow up to her knee. "Yeah, right. You can't even tell where you are while on the road with a map and you think you can make your way on foot to an exit you're not even sure to find in this pea soup? Think again, girlfriend. Not a good plan at all." Sitting back, she turned the motor back on and turned the heater up a bit, if only to burn the humidity out. Crossing her arms, she stared out ahead at the whited-out landscape, and was going over her options when she heard what sounded like bells. Cocking her head to the side, she listened more intently, even though she was convinced it was either tension, fatigue or her blood sugar playing tricks on her. But the more she listened, the more obvious it became that those were definitely bells she was hearing – sleigh bells, in fact. Looking down at her discarded mug, she shook her head with a bemused smile. "Either I've had too much of this stuff or not enough." Looking up, she stopped to stare out the passenger window at a sight at once ludicrous and strangely appropriate: a sleigh, to which was tied a very patient-looking dark horse that didn't seem phased in the least by the storm. "What's next – red-nosed reindeer?" A soft series of knocks on her window nearly made her jump out of her skin. There was someone there, a man, who was motioning her to roll down the window. Nodding, she did so, telling herself that it only made sense that someone would be there – that horse couldn't have come out here on its own, now could it?

"Are you quite all right?" the man asked solicitously in an accent she couldn't quite place but found utterly charming.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but I can't guarantee I won't die of embarrassment."

The sound of his chuckle was rich and comforting. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about, my dear; it's a wonder

there aren't more of you in this situation, given the weather. The important thing is that you're not injured."

My dear – how quaint, she thought as she took a moment to look him over now that the shock of seeing someone there had worn off. Stupid as the thought was under the circumstances, she couldn't help but notice how easy on the eyes he was: tall, broad-shouldered, with a rather fetching reddish-blond beard and the most amazing blue eyes she had ever seen on anyone – the color of a tropical sea. Waxing poetic, aren't we? The cap and the dark greatcoat he wore, she had to admit, added to this impression of him being a man of the sea. There couldn't be too much call for this kind of work this time of year, which made his appearance a little queer. Not to mention the sleigh – who used those nowadays? And close to the highway, to boot. Although for all she knew, she wasn't quite as close as she thought. Despite all those misgivings, however, she didn't feel especially concerned by the fact that she was stuck in a car on a little used road with a complete stranger for company. For one thing, she could defend herself just fine (ten years of martial arts training did that to a girl); for another, and that was the darndest one, she felt she knew that man from somewhere, but was damned if she knew where from. Time for that later – first, I need to get out of here. Smiling at his kind words, she asked, "How far am I from the nearest town?"

"Two, two and a half miles, maybe," he replied as he rested his arm on the top of the car. "I could actually make it back there fairly quickly and have my… a relative of mine… send some help to you."

The look on the man's face when he corrected himself was rather priceless; it took everything C.C. had not to laugh out loud. In fact, she'd love to hear more of what lay behind that look, if only to listen to that gorgeous brogue for a bit longer. She actually toyed with the idea of asking the man if he could take her to town with him, but quickly (and a little sadly) dismissed the idea, as she was loathe to leave the car here on its own. There was very little chance anyone would come around and rob her in this weather, but considering that he had managed to get out here, chances were someone else could also. "That would be great. Thank you so much! You're sure you won't have any trouble finding your way back, though?" she asked, suddenly feeling a little uncertain at the prospect of being left alone out here again.

The man smiled reassuringly as he straightened up and prepared to leave. "Quite. I know these parts quite well, I assure you."

She nodded. "Lived here long, have you?"

An enigmatic smile touched his lips. "You could say forever." Adjusting his cap, he started moving toward the sleigh. "You might want to roll that window up before you get snowed in. And don't worry – help should be here within the hour. I'll make sure of it."

Now why doesn't that sound reassuring for whoever's gonna be at the other end of that promise? C.C. wondered as she heard the hint of steel tingeing his tone. Shaking her head at herself, she started rolling up the window, then stopped, unable to resist one more question. "Excuse me, sir – "

"Danny."

"— Danny, but I have to ask: have you ever been to Canada at all? I hope I don't sound too forward here, but you really look familiar to me for some reason. Is it possible we've met before?"

"I have indeed been to Canada, many times, but not in a good long while," he replied with something akin to wistfulness in his voice. "So I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you there, Madam." Nodding his goodbye at her, he made his way back to the sleigh, hopped on and left, the bells jangling merrily for a time before everything fell silent again. With a sigh, C.C. reached back for the blanket she always kept in the car and wrapped herself in it, making sure she stayed warm until help arrived. "Damn," she muttered softly to herself as she looked to where the sleigh had been, "that snow sure is coming down – there's no trace left of his tracks or the sleigh's…"

True to Danny's word, help arrived in just about an hour's time, with extra gas that she was expressly forbidden to pay for by a rather strange man practically dressed up like a bear and clear directions on how to get to her destination, which, as it turned out, was almost literally around the corner. Everyone at Pat's got a bit of a fright when the word 'accident' came into the conversation, but C.C. quickly alleviated all fears with the tale of her encounter with Danny. Asked if she had ever come across him, Pat said she doubted it very much, considering how striking he seemed to be, but that she would definitely pay closer attention from now on, which earned her a shake of the head and a roll of the eyes from her husband.

Later in the evening, while giving C.C. a tour of the house, Pat reached into a drawer and drew out a slim, wrapped up package. "Here. Happy belated birthday! Well, it's not that belated, really – the 19th was only a few days ago."

C.C. shook her head as she took the package. "You shouldn't have done that! An invitation to come here was present enough!" Unwrapping the gift, she smiled as her eyes saw what it was. "'The Ghost & Mrs. Muir', by R.A. Dick – how did you know!"

Pat swatted her. "Oh, please – you've only been telling me about this thing in your emails for the last twenty years! Okay – the last couple or so. You have no idea how much I prayed you wouldn't write to tell me you had gotten it for yourself – hey, are you all right?" Pat asked, a little concerned at the slightly distracted look that had appeared on her friend's face.

"What? Oh yeah, just great. Thanks so much for the gift!" Pulling back after hugging Pat, C.C. picked up the discarded wrapping paper and started moving out of the room. "Let me put this in my room before going back down – I want to keep it close to the bed where I can easily get to it." Laughing, Pat went back downstairs, with strict orders to C.C. to join them as quickly as possible for the movie part of the evening. Once in her room, C.C. started putting the book on the night table, but unable to resist, she started leafing through it and smiled as she considered what a wonderful gift this was. She had wanted to get her clutches on this book for so very long… Her hands suddenly froze as her eyes came across a passage, near the beginning of the book, that gave a description of one of the two main characters. "Vivid blue eyes," she said distractedly, her mind flashing back on Danny's eyes, the way he was dressed, the absence of tracks in the snow… She shivered, unnerved, and delicately put the book down. Composing herself, she moved to the door, then stopped to look at the book speculatively. Then, snorting, she shook her head. "No way," she said with a smile, closing the door behind her.

The End