Kirsten stood anxiously at the ticket desk at the airport, drumming her fingernails anxiously against the counter top. "What do you mean all the flights have been cancelled?" She stared at the ticket lady who looked back at her as if she was an idiot.

"I mean, all the flights have been grounded until further notice. There's a storm system moving in, and all the planes are grounded because it's not safe for them to fly."

"I don't think you understand, I need to get on a plane."

"Well, your welcome to go sit on the airplane, but it's not going to be going anywhere. At least not up north."

"Hey, there's no reason for that." Sandy cut in, "Our son was skiing and he broke his leg, we're just trying to get to him. Is there nothing we can do?"

"You could get in your car and start driving." The woman suggested.

Sandy and Kirsten glanced at one another, "Well we could…" Kirsten said.

"Yes, but wasn't the whole point of driving so that Ryan wouldn't have to an endure a long drive home?

"We could drive there, and then fly home."

"Honey, by the time we got there the kids will probably have driven home… Ryan could just buy his own plane ticket."

"And fly by himself?"

"He's a big boy, I'm sure he could handle it. The other guys could bring him to the airport, we'd pick him up, and he'd be taken care of by the airport, they'd give him a wheelchair and everything."

"Look, while you folks are deciding, there's a long line of passengers behind you, so could you step to the side please?" The woman behind the counter asked impatiently. Sandy and Kirsten begrudgingly stepped out of line.

"She was rude…" Kirsten said.

"Yes, and entirely unhelpful…"

"We could wait here a few hours… See if any of the planes start flying. Try to get on the first one out."

"Let's call Seth, have him ask Ryan what he wants to do."

***

"Are you guys here already?" Seth asked when he answered his parents' call.

"No, we've hit a snag. Apparently there's a big snow storm moving in up there, and they've grounded all the flights, so we can't get out there this morning. Can you put Ryan on? We want to ask him what he'd like us to do."

"He's pretty groggy, but you might get a coherent sentence out of him." Seth said, and handed the phone over to Ryan.

"Hello?" Ryan's voice sounded tired and hoarse.

"Hi honey, how are you feeling?" Kirsten asked gently.

"I'm fine," His auto- response, even they he knew they knew he was lying. He didn't want them to worry anymore, and he was worried if he admitted the truth it would just be a long string of complaints. It was his own fault for agreeing to go on this stupid ski trip, and now his leg was broken and his girlfriend had run straight into Oliver's arms.

"Alright well… Sandy and I are trying to fly out there to you, but all the flights have been cancelled. Would you like us to drive up there and pick you up? Drive up there and fly home with you? Would you like to just buy a ticket?"

"Why were the flights cancelled?" Ryan's brain could only compute so much information at a time.

"There's a big snow storm moving in," Seth answered.

"If there's a big storm… How could I get out of here?" Ryan asked, for a moment he had been thrilled by the prospect of escape from this horrible place.

"Maybe you could get a flight before the storm starts, or wait until after the storm…"

"I'm fine really, I'll just go in the car with everyone else. Don't worry about me."

"It's our job to worry, Ryan."

"We're leaving tomorrow… Well, today. I'll be home soon."

"Alright, but if it starts snowing really hard, don't drive. Okay?"

"We have to get back to school."

"We'll call them- tell them you're having a snow day." Sandy joked.