A/N: Last chapter was even more silly. Hopefully you will forgive me for the random bit of fun. Thank you again so much for the messages, reviews, and follows! Also, thank you so much all of you who commented on the last bit of the Luck story. I had a lot of fun with that one. :) I am hoping to update this story again very soon, but we shall see how the rest of the day goes. This chapter picks up again a couple hours after the last one...

A Little Snow Chapter 4

The next thing Sharon realized was that she was warm, very warm. Which was odd since she knew that it was freezing outside and that the hotel was not exactly well insulated. Her mind was hazy over the thought until the feel of cotton underneath her cheek caused her eyes to shoot open. At some point in the few hours since she had fallen back to sleep she had once again migrated across the tiny towel barrier she had created. In her sleep she had sought out warmth, and unfortunately for her it was the other occupant of the bed. Fortunately though this time she was only cuddled against his back, nothing like their earlier connection. Sharon let out a quiet sigh of frustration. She was slightly horrified over the fact that for some reason she was unable to stay on her side of the bed. She did not feel like she moved around in her sleep on a regular basis, but of course tonight of all nights her sleep habits had to change. Sharon rolled her eyes and pushed lightly against the bed to slowly scoot away.

At the shift in the mattress, still on his side facing the window, Andy blinked himself awake. He stretched lightly and squinted out the window in front of him. The snow was still falling, but it did appear that the wind had died down somewhat. Andy stretched again and rolled onto his back. As he ran his hand over his face he noted Sharon moving slowly beside him. He angled his head to his left and focused one eye on her to see she was also awake. "Morning," he grumbled hoarsely.

"Mm hmm," Sharon hummed in response as she stood from the bed.

Not exactly sure what else to say he shrugged, "Looks like it is still snowing."

"A very astute observation, Lieutenant," Sharon sighed softly, wrapping her arms loosely around her middle.

Andy rolled his head back to his pillow, "Wow, back to that then?" He groaned still waking up, "Great, Captain, we have a hell of a day ahead of us then. You do realize we still have to drive together the rest of the way into the city, and then navigate any traffic or road hazards there as well, right?"

Sharon bit down on her lip and sighed, "Sorry, Andy. I just, I guess I am a little bit frustrated with all of this." She grimaced slightly at her earlier reaction, since part of it was due to her irritation with herself for not being able to remain still as she slept.

"Join the club," he grumbled in response.

She stood on her side of the bed for a moment staring between him and the window. "Well," she shrugged, "at least it does look less intense this morning. It is not exactly over, but with it at least being morning maybe it will not be too bad out there." She walked to her suitcase, "We might as well get ready to go." Sharon gathered her things and turned toward the bathroom.

From his spot on the bed Andy nodded as he repeated, "Might as well." He watched her wheel her suitcase into the bathroom and close the door behind her. As the door closed he heard the lock click. At the sound he sighed into the room, "Yes, because I was going to barge in on you. You are simply that irresistible." He glanced to the door and continued to mock lightly to himself, "but who was the heat seeker last night?" After taking another moment to mentally prepare for the day ahead he kicked off the sheets and stood. He threw on some fresh clothes and decided to go downstairs in search of coffee and a bite to eat.

In the bathroom Sharon heard the main door open and close, and let out a sigh of relief to be alone for a moment. She turned on the shower and then turned to face the mirror. With her hands on either side of the vanity she stared into her reflection. The trip was obviously not going as planned, but it was only going to get worse if they did not move passed their differences and work together. They were adults, adults with a history of somewhat heated exchanges and rocky interactions, but adults all the same. Thousands of miles from home they could put their differences aside and drive the reasonably short distance together. She needed to stop worrying, he was being nice enough, and they could get through this and move on without it affecting their lives. Sharon pulled her hair up into a loose bun and turned to the shower.

Downstairs Andy joined some of their fellow travelers in the small dining area adjacent to the lobby. The hotel had a complimentary breakfast set up with bagels, muffins, cereals, and fruit, with coffee, milk, and assorted juices. He snagged a couple bagels and popped them into the toaster before he turned to the lobby television. The meteorologist on the screen was flipping through viewer images of downed tree limbs and snow covered cars. Andy stepped closer to hear the expected weather issues for the day.

"The initial storm has blown through," explained the man on the screen, "but do not expect any miracles for your travel this Christmas Eve. With temperatures still well below freezing, and another wave of lighter precipitation rolling into the area mid afternoon, conditions are not expected to improve greatly. Road crews are out clearing the main snow routes. However, side streets, along with bridges and off ramps, could still be slick and hazardous. If you do not have to get out in this, please stay home."

Andy rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Wonderful," he muttered under his breath. He glanced around the room; the other guests were having similar reactions. A 'pop' behind him had him returning to the breakfast prep, still trying to decide on the best plan for the day. Yes, the best plan was to stay put, but if they could make it a little farther out before the lighter round moved in, maybe the Christmas trip would not be totally wasted. Even if they had to travel slow and make frequent stops it was not completely crazy to imagine that they could not make it to the city by the end of the day. Once they got out of this area the weather was not supposed to be as bad. Plus, even if it did turn they were not exactly stranded in the middle of nowhere. There were plenty of places along the route to stop in if needed.

Thinking through the pros and cons of traveling versus staying Andy continued to prepare food for breakfast and snag a couple pieces of fruit for the drive. With full hands he headed back upstairs to get ready for the rest of the day. When he reentered the room Sharon was dressed and sitting on the side of the bed closing up her suitcase.

She looked up when the door clicked open to see Andy lifting a tray slightly into the air. "Breakfast," he smiled, "I grabbed a few different options for today." He placed the tray on the bed and handed her one of the coffees, "I was not sure how you took your coffee, but there is a small deal of creamer on the tray and a couple packets of sugar."

"Thank you," Sharon hummed somewhat surprised at the gesture. "I was going to go down and grab something after I finished getting ready." She glanced down to the tray, "but thank you."

Andy shrugged, "There were quite a few people down there. I would have hated for the hotel to run out of food before you had the chance to get down there. I'm not sure if we will find anything on the road. Most places probably won't be opening anytime soon. So, breakfast in bed, Captain."

She smirked at the remark, but took a sip of coffee instead of acknowledging his lighthearted joke. "So, it is still going to be bad then?" Sharon wondered bringing the cup down between both of her hands. "I was hoping for good news."

"Well, good news is that it is stopping for now," he shrugged. "Bad news is that there will only be a small window before the next one blows through. The roads are not going to be magically improved, but maybe the break and the daylight could allow us to get out of here."

Sharon nodded, "Hopefully," before setting her cup on the nightstand and reaching down to pull on her boots.

"Are those all your have?" Andy gestured to her legs.

Confused, Sharon turned to him, "What do you mean all I have? They're just riding boots."

"Riding boots?" Andy probed, "Were you planning on horseback riding through Central Park or something? Those definitely won't keep you warm out there in this."

Sharon rolled her eyes, "They're boots, Andy. I packed for a few days in New York with my daughter. As surprising as it may seem, I had not planned on being stuck out in the coastal tundra."

"Well," Andy shrugged, "those definitely won't keep you warm if we get stuck out in this. What were you planning on wearing in the City? You were prepared for it to at least be cold, right?"

"It's not like I am destitute. I packed light because it was just a short trip in order to spend Christmas with my daughter. If it got too cold, my plan was to borrow something from my her." She eyed him hesitantly, "Besides, I do not really think you need to be criticizing my packing skills. It is what it is at this point, remember? The forecasters did not predict a storm of this magnitude, and even if they had I still would have tried to get out here for Christmas with Emily. She could not come to me, so I was not going to miss the opportunity to come to her."

Andy shrugged again and walked to suitcase over on his side of the bed, "Okay, but here." He tossed her a pair of warmer socks. "You can borrow these if you want. I know we are going to be in the car, but your feet could still get cold. I may not know you that well, but from the last twelve hours or so I can guess you may enjoy the extra heat source."

The socks fell onto the bed beside her. Sharon eyed them somewhat cautiously before picking them up. He was right, the boots were not warm, and if she were being honest her hands and feet were always a little cold. Reluctantly she pulled the socks over her feet before tugging on her boots and returning to her coffee. Andy watched silently from the other side of the room while he continued to zip up his suitcase and put on his own shoes.

After he was finished with his task he walked back over to the bed and picked up a bagel. "So," he sighed, "back to the weather and the drive." Sharon hummed in acknowledgement and looked up to meet his eyes as he continued. Andy gestured to the scene outside, "Like I said, there is a window of lighter snow. We could warm up the car and see how far we get now, or we could wait it out here another day and hope for clearer roads and warmer weather tomorrow."

Sharon pursed her lips together in consideration. The visit with Emily was already going go be cut short, and while she did not want to do anything stupid, she also did not want to miss Christmas completely. Her daughter had told her to take care and to take her time, but it was also only a couple more hours away. Once they got back on the interstate the travel conditions should be more manageable. "Well," she deliberated. "I do not think we should put ourselves into a dangerous situation, but I also think we could make it. You said they were working to clear the road. I think it is worth it to try. Worst case scenario is we have to pull over and wait it out for a bit, right?"

"Right," Andy confirmed thankful that she was willing to take a chance on getting out of there. "Besides, it is mostly over. The car has all wheel drive and we can take our time."

Sharon nodded, "Okay. Let's try then. I mean it's either a few hours stuck in the car together or another day holed up in this hotel."

"Yeah," Andy shuttered and sighed sarcastically. "Option two sounds awful. Another day trapped with Raydor? Not my idea of a happy holiday."

She smirked and rolled her eyes, "Ha-ha, very funny, Flynn." Sharon reached out and picked up a piece of fruit, "So, should we wait a little longer or go ahead and try our luck?"

"I say we finish breakfast and then head out." He took a bite of his bagel. "I will go back downstairs and warm up the car. I guess we are lucky to have gotten in when we did. Some of the other cars are completely buried underneath the snow. As it is, ours is only slightly buried and it won't take long to brush off the powder. I'll start the car while you're checking out and then bring it back around to the front, deal?"

Sharon nodded, "Deal."