CPOV

We had all made arrangements to be up bright and early this morning, in case the weather decided to change. At the moment it was clear skies and I was looking forward to the drive up to Ana's.

Just thinking her name brought a smile to my face, a smile that was there when I woke up thinking of our kiss last night. She was my girlfriend and I couldn't be happier.

Our engineer had been looking at the helicopter as best he could in the position it was in. From what he had seen so far, he has put it down to the weather conditions when I had taken off in Wenatchee.

At Boeing field the helicopter was in a hanger when not in use. In Wenatchee that was not the case and was open to the elements for the duration of my stay there. I had done my checks as I always did, making sure I had enough fuel for the return trip and nothing had come up. With not having my usual crew there, I was reliant on what was available in Wenatchee and obviously their checks were not as thorough as my staff.

Its my own fault, I should have taken more time to plan the trip but being a spur of the moment decision, it was a decision that could of gotten me killed. A full examination will be done when it is back at Boeing field.

I had seen photos of what was left of my helicopter but I know until I get up there, the real impact will probably not hit me.

Going down for breakfast, I passed the radio I had spoken to Ana on the night before. I was tempted to pick it up but for all I knew, she could still be sleeping and I didn't want to disturb her.

"Good morning son" my Dad greeted me. "Coffee."

"Morning Dad, please" he was stood at the coffee machine pouring what would hopefully make me more alert.

I took a seat by the front window so I could see the street beyond. People were already up and about, the sheriffs car going by but it didn't look like the chief driving it. I had grown to love this little town in the couple of days that I had been able to enjoy it. Yes there were a few people I met last night that I could do without but I could see myself spending a lot of time here in he future, especially with Ana

Dad joined me at my table before passing me the cup of coffee.

"Thanks dad" I told him before taking a sip.

"Good morning Mr Grey's, what can I get you for breakfast" Debra the owner asked us.

"Just toast and bacon please."

She smiled jotting it down before my Dad told her he wanted the same, but with eggs as well.

"What are your plans for going back to Seattle" Dad asked me.

"I'd like to stay until Ana goes back" I told him smiling.

"I know you like her but that smile says more" he laughed.

"I asked Ana to be my girlfriend."

I think I had stunned my Dad as his cup stopped halfway to his mouth. It took him a few seconds before he put it down again.

"Dad say something."

"Sorry son. You shocked me then, although I shouldn't be surprised. I'm really happy for you Christian. I know you have only known each other a few days but seeing you together at the diner yesterday, I knew it would only be a matter of time. Plus it's nice that I actually like your girlfriend."

"Dad" I laughed.

He hated Susanna, said he could smell her bullshit a mile away. With her, I think I kept her longer than I needed too because she served a purpose. She was there if I didn't want to arrive at an event alone. I soon realised arriving alone was a lot less hassle than waiting for her.

"Good morning. What has you two laughing so much this morning" my mother asked as she joined us.

"Just enjoying being alive mum."

"That and our son has a girlfriend" Dad told her.

I don't think my mother had moved so fast to hug me before. She was careful of my ribs but she was practically bouncing in her excitement. Cupping my face in her hands, I could see through her watery eyes, how happy she was.

By the time we had left the hotel, my whole family was talking about my girlfriend, who I couldn't wait to see.

…

Driving carefully up to Ana's house in two cars, we stopped at the side of the road. Ana had told me about it but seeing it with my own eyes, it was truly magical.

I got out and leaned against the car as Elliot came up to me. He was speechless which made me laugh as it had to be a first.

"How does Ana ever leave" my mother asked as we stood looking at the frozen waterfall.

"She doesn't mum" I told her as I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and kissed her head.

"That is beautiful" Elliot said, snapping pictures on his phone when he had finally found his voice.

"Forget buying property in Aspen, you need to spend winter here Christian" Mia told me and I couldn't agree more.

Prising my brother's attention away from the waterfall, we made our way back to the cars. I had my own photos that I had taken and I will be sure to get them printed when I get back to Seattle. When you have scenery like this, Seattle seemed like a million miles away from here.

"Ana said she was going back on Sunday so unless that has changed, I was thinking of staying around until then and hopefully driving back with her. I don't really want her arriving back in Seattle with the press still on the prowl."

"And you get extra time with her" my dad smiled. That is a definite bonus.

"Well I certainly wouldn't mind spending more time in this little town, so Sunday would suit me" my mum said. Sunday it is.

We followed the winding road up the mountain side, pulling off onto a side road half way up. I can understand why Ana wouldn't drive if it wasn't cleared, as the road wasn't very wide.

When the house came into view, I smiled. It was a perfect mixture of brick, wood and glass, blending perfectly in with the surroundings. It looked like it had always been here and probably had too.

"Good morning" Ray called from the porch. He had a dog who was obediently sat beside him, observing who was arriving.

"Good morning."

Walking closer, I shook his hand. Ana must have told him if the smile on his face is anything to go by. He didn't seem to disprove of me dating his daughter.

"How did that get up that road" Elliot pointed to the crane that was parked at the side of the house.

"With great difficultly I think, Ana said it arrived pretty much as soon as it was light this morning."

"Taking advantage of the calm weather" Dad said as we walked up the porch steps and was shown inside.

I smiled looking around the living room and over to the burning fire. I remember little bits of that night, mainly Ana and that fire.

"Hi."

I turned seeing my beautiful girlfriend stood in the doorway to what looked like the kitchen. Walking closer to her, I leaned down and kissed her lips.

"Hi" I whispered kissing her again. Her lips are what I had fallen asleep, dreaming of last night and they're just as soft as I remember.

"Morning Ana" Elliot said walking into the room and covering his eyes so he didn't see our kiss.

"Morning Elliot, careful" she told him as he was just about to walk into a small table.

"Behave son" Dad told him as everyone started coming in from outside.

Ana took my hand in hers and led us over to the couch where we took a seat. Our family took the seats around us in front of the fire.

"This house is beautiful, well this whole town is beautiful" my mother told her.

"Thank you, this house was my grandparents and they left it to me when they passed away."

"How often does property come on to the market in this town" Mia asked Ana.

"The last time was twelve years ago, I think. Wasn't Mrs James house the last to be sold" she asked her dad.

"Yes it went to Ben, my deputy and his wife. It's very rare for property to be sold as it's usually passed down from generation to generation. Mrs James had no heirs so she left it in trust to the town. They had just gotten married so they purchased it."

"How does the town grow if there is no spare property" Elliot asked them, always trying to figure out a construction problem.

"Land, most of the family's have a lot of land so additional houses are built on that. It has to blend in though. Don't get me wrong we do have people come and settle here but they usually know one of the residents beforehand. Its not the sort of town where you suddenly put a pin in a map and decide you are going to live there" Ray told us.

"There goes my plans of leaving Seattle and moving here" Mia told him laughing.

"I'm sure we could find you a cabin somewhere. Ana owns the largest property in town, although a lot of it is mountain."

"I love my mountain" she told her Dad as he smiled at her.

"This place is perfect just the way it is and my daughter living in a place without stores, that I would love to see." my mother laughed.

"I found the store, look at my new hat."

"Only you could go black Friday shopping in this town" Elliot laughed at our sister.

Welch came to the door and told us they were ready to move the helicopter so we all went out onto the back deck. I didn't realise I would be as shocked to see it as I was. How I got out of that alive I don't know and seeing the distance that Ana would have dragged me in the cold freezing snow, she truly was my angel that night.

"How did you get him up the hill Ana" Elliot asked her.

"I'm still trying to figure that one out for myself."

"I'm glad you did" I told her before kissing her lips.

We all stood on the deck as the helicopter was slowly lifted out of the snow. You could hear the crane straining because of the distance it had to be away so it didn't end up down the slope with it.

The large tree that it was against it, groaned as it finally moved upright and not at an angle from where the helicopter had lay against it. I was expecting it to fall but it didn't, it must be one strong tree.

Ana let out a big sigh when the helicopter was finally moved onto the back of the truck. There was still so much damage that had been done to the garden below but once the snow had thawed and we could see the complete damage, I would have someone up here to hopefully put it together to how it was before.

"I'm just going to make some tea and coffee" Ana said kissing my cheek.

My mother and sister followed her inside out of the cold.

"That is one strong tree" Elliot said making me nod.

I don't know how far the garden went before the edge but I had been stopped by trees and rocks.

"My Grandfather planted that tree when he was a child with his own father" Ray said turning to face us.

"How old is it" Dad asked him.

"Well over a hundred years old. It's Ana's favourite."

"Will it survive" I asked.

"Yes, like I told Ana. A helicopter wouldn't take it down, although it was a bit taller before this week."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be Christian, it was an accident. I'm just glad you didn't come down a few minutes earlier."

"What do you mean."

"Its nothing" he told me like he had said something he hadn't meant to say and I knew it wasn't nothing at all.

"Please, tell me."

He sighed, looking at Ana through the glass door who was talking to my mother, before looking back to me.

"As I said, that is Ana's favourite tree. As a child it was always the boundary to where she could wander, whenever she was here. Ana was always a good girl and never went passed it and to this day she never has. On the day you came down, Ana had arrived here. My dog was hyperactive at seeing her so she brought him up here to stay the night. Ana was out walking and had patted the tree like she always does before heading back to the house. She had just reached it, when you came over."

"If I had been a few minutes earlier" I whispered not wanting to say the truth out loud.

I would have killed Ana.

I felt sick, I rushed to the side of the deck and emptied my stomach over it. I had been so happy over the past couple of days, happier than I can ever remember feeling before and I could have lost that. I could have killed Ana, she would have never saved me and she would have never been my girlfriend.

"Christian" I heard her voice from my side.

Her hand was on my back rubbing it, soothing me like she always does. I took the towel from her hand and took a sip of the water. Before I wrapped my arms around her tightly.

"I could of killed you."

"But you didn't Christian, we're both here and I'm happy that we are."

"I'm very happy to be here with you too" I told her.

Everyone had moved into the house from the deck, giving us space. I breathed in her scent, just holding her to me. Needing the contact at the moment. I wanted to kiss her again but not when I had just vomited.

"Come with me" she told me as she led me into the house and through to a bathroom where she handed me a new toothbrush and her toothpaste.

It was nice to have a clean mouth again and as soon as it smelt fresh once more, I crashed my mouth to hers, taking her by surprise. This kiss was more passionate than our kiss last night but I wasn't letting Ana go. She moved her finger, through the hair at the base of my neck, earning a groan from me. I wanted to deepen the kiss more but I knew we pretty much had an audience around.

"Sorry about your tree" I said when we broke apart.

"You were thinking about the tree while you were kissing me" she giggled.

"No but I wanted to apologise before your kisses make me lose my mind again."

She placed a kiss on my lips once more before we emerged from the bathroom. I thought we were heading back into the living room but Ana went straight to the back door.

"Are you ok going down there" Ana asked me as she pointed to the tree she loved.

Nodding, I took her hand as she led me back outside and off the porch as we slowly made our way towards the tree.

"I used to climb it when I was a little girl, I don't think you have any fear then. I don't think I would be brave enough to climb it now though."

"I fell out of a tree once when I was a kid and broke my arm, it's all Elliot's fault" I told her.

"Why did he push you."

"No there was a girl he liked, who lived in the house next to us. Elliot found out that if he sat on one particularly branch of the tree in our garden, he could see in her bedroom window. She knew he was there, left her curtains open but I was only ten and never seen breast before so when she started taking her bra off in front of the window, I fell from the tree in shock."

Ana was giggling beside me as I wrapped my arm around her waist. She really was beautiful, flushed cheeks, windswept hair and a gorgeous smile. Perfect.

"I bet you didn't climb the tree again."

"No, Elliot did and got caught by her Dad."

"You would have never gotten anything like that in this town. You would fall a lot further than a few feet with these trees."

Ana reached her tree and patted it, smiling. It had lost a bit of the bark that had been scraped off but from what she was saying, she was hopeful it could be saved.

"I really am sorry for almost killing you Ana" I said wrapping my arms around her waist.

"I'm not, we might never have met otherwise. I'm sorry you got hurt though."

The garden was a mess, with parts of trees strewn across the snow. I will make it better though.

"Sunday, would you mind an extra passenger when you drive back" I asked her.

"I would love it if you could stay until then" she smiled widely.

"Tomorrow will you have dinner with me."

"I would love to, where."

"We could have it at the restaurant, the food isn't bad there" I told her.

"How about you come here and I will cook, we can eat without being watched then."

"Sounds perfect."

We turned around and headed back to the house, fingers entwined.

Ana made us all lunch as we sat around the fire, She was telling us how her grandmother had been Mayoress of this town and Ray confirmed that it was She who had nicknamed it the Snowflake festival. We talked about the town in general and how the phone reception in the mountains was non existent.

"That's the only thing that would make living her better, phone or internet reception. I only say make it better because I would work from here and then I could email it all back to Seattle" Ana told us.

"You would never leave" Mia asked her.

"I would, the good thing about leaving is always knowing I get to come back."

"Do you always come back alone" I asked Ana.

"Kate had come here a few time, but she's more of a sun person and complains about the cold."

"Tell me about it" Ray grumbled making Ana laugh.

"She's got better" Ana told her father.

"Kate is the only person who turns up in this town, in the middle of winter with heels on and then complains when they get wet."

"She's a city girl Dad, plus I don't think she expected to step out of the car into over a foot of snow."

"I'm glad you told us to wrap up warm Ana" my mother told her.

"Yes thank you. I couldn't imagine being here with out the fire going" Elliot told her.

"I have enough logs cut to get me through winter and living surrounded by trees, there is usually some that had gone down in the winter storms. You worried about the trees that went down. You saved me a bit of work with the axe. They will be cut up and dried out ready for next winter."

"Hold on, do you mean that you cut them down yourself" Elliot asked Ana shocked.

"Of course, Dad told me everything he knew. You can't live in this town or especially where I live if you're going to worry about breaking a nail if you need more wood. It's a beautiful place to live but you also need to know how to survive out here as well and first thing you learn is how to cut logs and keep a fire going."

"Do you want a job back in Seattle because you can show my guys how go cut the logs properly when we use them."

"No thanks I have my perfect job" she smiled and cuddled back into my side as I kissed her head.

The snow was just starting to fall when it was time for us to leave. We had, had a great day up here and I was looking forward to tomorrow.

"What are we going to do if it starts to snow during dinner tomorrow" I asked he once our lips had parted.

"Well I can either drop you back in town and then drive back in the snow or you can Bring pyjamas with you or I have some of Dads. We can wait for dinner until we get back to Seattle if you're worried about getting stuck."

"I'm not worried about getting stuck Ana, believe me. Being stuck with you, by the fire sounds like the perfect evening."

I kissed her lips once more before I let her go. My impatient brother had beeped the horn ready to get out of the snow that was starting to get thicker.

"See you tomorrow Christian" Ana waved, wrapping his coat tighter around her.

"Go inside."

She smiled and stood behind the glass door where she was warm.

Driving back down the mountain again, hearing my brothers continued chatter. I hoped when I arrived tomorrow that the snow would fall again.

Thank you for reading and reviewing

I know nothing about helicopters except they are supposed to stay in the air so I just wrote what fit the story, regarding the crash.

until next time

take care

Caroline