Well, in most Jack Frost fics I've read, the love interest always seems to be involved in some sort of visual art-usually photography. So I'm going with the trend- Sam is drawer. The way I see it, that and reading are about the only hobbies she could really do in foster care. Have fun and reveiw-Jack has finally made an appearance.

Don't worry- he'll probably feature prominantly in most chapters from now on.

Reviews are love!

The alarm clock blared in Sam's ear at six, waking up out of the first sound sleep she'd had in ages. "Mmph." Sam muttered, sticking a hand out of the warm blankets and fumbling around until she managed to turn off the alarm. Withdrawing her arm from the chill room and back under the warmth of layers of comforter and blankets, Sam raised her head blearily to gaze out at the window.

It was still dark outside; to dark to see much beyond the window glass- but the glass itself was decorated with swirls of frost. Sam groaned and flopped her head back down, burying her face in the pillows.

Damn cold. Just SNOW already, will ya? She thought at the weather, trying to drift back into sleep. Five more minutes- or maybe an hour...

But a nagging reminder from her stomach that it wanted breakfast and the nag of her conciecnse about the unfinished Alegbra problems gnawed at her.

Ugh. Sam dragged herself out of bed, glad that there was a rug on the otherwise very cold wooden floor, and went downstairs, feeling more like a zombie than any living creature should.

Carefully, she negotiated the darkened hallway into the kitchen. Once there, Sam rummaged in the kitchen cupboard for a while, mostly by feel, eventually coming up with a mug, a spoon, a muffin, and a couple of hot chocolate packets.

Filling the mug with hot water from the sink, Sam ripped open both packets of hot chocolate and dumped the contents into the mug, stirring metatativly with one hand and holding the mug with the other. She turned back to the window over the kitchen sink- and nearly dropped the mug in suprise and delight.

The backyard, dark though it was, was clearly covered in a thick layer of white. Sam nearly whooped with joy- but, exercising considerable self control, managed to contain her excitement.

With exaggerated care, Sam set the mug of cocoa down on the counter by the muffin she'd intended to eat- before taking off down the hall to the den, where the TV lived. Bare feet slipping on the hall run, Sam skidded to a halt in front of the TV, muting it before frantically channeling to a news report.

Film of piled up snow and frozen plows in a dark, night like morning played- while words like 'heavy snowfall', 'unusually early storm', and 'widespread school closures' flashed repetitivly behind the news host.

A small banner with the title 'School Start Times' played on an endless loop across the bottom of the screen- listing school names, and what time they would start, whether they were pending a decision- or whether they were cancelled altogether.

Sam crossed her fingers, looking anxiously for Burgess High School. Please be a snow day, please be a snow day... She prayed ferverntly. God, she hadn't had a snow day in years- they weren't exactly common in the southwest. More like unheard of.

She spotted Burgess High- and nearly shouted for joy. While most of the other schools had yet to admit defeat, Burgess had quickly bowed to the inevitable- and cancelled school altogether.

"Yes!" Sam shouted- and quickly covered her mouth, not wanting to wake the rest of the house up. But the need to be quiet did not curb her happiness in the least. With a ridiculous smile on her face, Sam danced back to the kitchen, putting the muffin back in the fridge before retreating back upstairs to savor her drink.

Closing the door softly behind her, she sat at the window, sipping her hot chocolate and marveling at the sight of peace on the street below her. Everything had been covered by a thick white blanket- and everything was quiet and hushed. Dreary trees that had long since lost their fall splendor were softened and made beautiful again- the blunt corners of houses were dulled by the white into welcoming shapes.

Sam smiled around her mug as she drank the last of the contents. Snow- now that she saw it again, she realized how much she missed it. Winter might be the season she hated most- but snow was one of her favorite things. Ever.

Setting the mug aside, she drew a quick snowflake on the window pane fogged up by her body heat, then another, a different one- and another, again, different. Her own little tribute to the snow she'd wished for complete, Sam rose gracefully and climbed back into bed- the small smile still on her face as she slipped back into sleep.

Sam woke up to an insistent voice calling in her ear.

"Sam- It's a snow day! You gotta get up! We're gonna go sledding and build a snow fort and-"

Sam cracked open one eye to see Jamie bouncing up and down beside the bed, dressed in a curious mix of pajamas and snow clothes.

Then she looked over at the clock and groaned. "Jamie, It's seven bloody AM."

"But Sam-" Jamie whined. "Mom made waffles!" Jamie adopted the begging, puppy eyed look he'd found Sam couldn't resist.

Sam rolled over on her back and sighed, giving in. "Give me five more minutes. I'll be down in a sec."

Instantly, Jamie's expression brighted into a mega-watt grin. "Yay!" He yelled as he ran out of her room and back downstairs. Sam pulled a pillow from behind her head and flung it over her face.

Kids.

She laid there for another couple of minutes, before tossing it aside and heaving herself out of bed and onto her feet.

Rubbing at one eye, she yawned and dug through her dresser, pulling out a pair of jeans and her warmest hoodie, the one from Burgess High that Jamie had insisted she get at the Homecoming game, which he'd insisted she go to.

In truth, she hadn't minded that much- what she had minded was the whispers and looks from her fellow student body and their families. But she was awfully fond of that hoodie- it was a dark navy zip up, with 'Burgess High School' emblazoned in white across the front, and the inside was lined with fleece.

She slipped the clothes on over her pajamas, yanked on a pair of warm socks over her chilled feet, and pulled her hair back into a pony before going over to the window to retrive her used mug. As she picked it up, the handle dangling from her fingers, she glanced out the window.

The street was now lit, pale sunlight lighting the snow and making it sparkle- and shouts and shrieks of joy floated up to the window from children engaged in snow warfare or sledding down the street.

They were all over, the younger ones who were probably still in elementary school, their colorful winter jackets making bright spots against the white snow. Sam watched them for a few minutes, mug dangling forgotten from her fingertips- and frowned in confusion as she spotted an older boy in a blue hoodie, holding a stick shaped like a shepard's crook in one hand, playing with them.

She dismissed it, seeing him playing with the kids. If he wanted to play with them rather than hang with other high schoolers, that was his business. After all, she did the pretty much the same thing. Which reminded her-

Grabbing the mug more firmly, she turned away from the window and darted back downstairs.

Downstaris, Jamie and Sophie were both devoring piles of homemade waffles at the kitchen table- and another place was set for Sam, with her own pile of still steaming goodness. Mrs. Bennett was dressed for work in heels, suit, and wool coat- Sam opened her mouth to ask why, but before she could, the woman answered for her.

"I have to go to work for awhile- they're saying on the news that this could be a big storm, with more snow on the way, and I want to try and get some things done before the snow traps us all in here."

Sam closed her mouth and nodded, walking over and putting her mug in the sink.

"Do you want me to watch Jamie and Sophie?"

Mrs. Bennett smiled greatfully. "Thank you, but just Jamie."

"Mom!" Jamie protested through a mouthful of waffles.

"Just Jamie;" Mrs. Bennett continued, "Because I'm going to drop Sophie off at daycare on my way there. If the weather gets worse, it's not that far for you to go and get her if I'm not home."

Sam nodded. "Alright."

"I'll be back around four. And eat your breakfast, honey." Mrs. Bennett called as she walked out of the room to the garage, holding Sophie's hand.

Sam blinked at the use of the endearment, but obeyed, sitting down and digging into the plate of food. It was good- flakey and delicately sweet, without being heavy or cloying.

"So," she said to Jamie, getting up and pouring herself a glass of milk. "What were your plans for the day?"

Jamie squirmed. "I was just- just gonna go play with some freinds."

"Alright," Sam agreed. "Now, I know you know the usual rules; don't talk to strangers and all that. So, go play with your freinds. Just come back here for lunch before your mom comes home, okay?"

Jamie nodded enthusiatically, glad to be treated responsibly. "Okay!"

"I'll be outside the house for a few hours, so can you tell me where I can find you if I come back and you're not here?"

Jamie considered for a moment. "Probably at Caleb and Claude's house."

Sam nodded. She'd babysit the twins a couple of times- she knew where their house was. "Alright. If you're not here when I come back, I'll come and see how you're doing. Is that alright?"

Jamie nodded, finishing the last of his breakfast and bringing the sticky plate to the sink. Sam drank her milk and finished off her own breakfast, placing her plate on top of Jamie's.

By the time she had done so, Jamie had already pulled on his winter gear and was darting out the front door.

"Have fun!" She called after him, before closing the door to the chill and going back inside to find her own boots and hat.

It took a bit of walking, but Sam managed to find the small pond she'd glimpsed on her first drive here. For whatever reason, she'd never found time to visit it before. It was odd, but well, her life was weird- even though said weirdness had decreased for the time being.

It was rather pretty, but otherwise unremarkable- she wondered what drew her to it so much. The water was frozen over, but only by a thin crust of brittle ice. Silently, the snow crunching under her feet, she went over the the water's edge. Already, the ice had fratured, water seeping out from under it like blood from a wound.

Well, I'm dark, Sam thought with ironic amusement. Spotting a bench nearby, Sam carefully brushed snow off of it and sat down, unshouldering the small drawstring bag she'd brought with her.

She laid it beside her and opened it, removing a pad of cheap paper and a plain #2 pencil. Turning to a fresh page, she set the newly sharpened lead to paper and began to draw. The soft graphite streaked over the paper, lines tracing the curves of the cliffs over the pond and the trees that grew on them.

It was always this way- she was a tolerable artist, and four years in foster care with nothing else to entertain her on a non-existent income had honed her skill. Besides, it gave her a way to remember both the places she had loved and the creatures she had seen. The ones she wanted to remember, anyway.

"Well, you're not the first artist to draw here," The amused voice broke her concentration, startling her and giving a pine tree an abnormally long branch. "But you're one of the youngest. Shouldn't you be hanging out with your friends in a coffee shop somewhere?"

Irritated, Sam looked up to see the boy from before- the one she'd seen from her window, with the blue hoodie- standing a bit across from her. He still held the curved stick from before, and for whatever reason, he wasn't wearing shoes. His hair was pure white, and he had smirk of indifferent amusement.

Sam narrowed her eyes, wondering if he was one of the Others, or the Legends. A creature like Amay. Other than the stick, the frost on his hoodie, and the lack of shoes, he didn't look like one of them. He looked ... well; normal. All of the Otherkind Sam had seen or met, including Amay, had some air of magic about them. A kind of shine that set them apart.

She considered for a moment, before deciding to ignore him. If he was an Other, if he thought she couldn't see him, he'd leave her alone and go away. If he was a guy from town- well, she hoped he'd get bored when she didn't awknowledge him and leave her alone.

That decided, she turned back to her drawing. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him float over and behind her to look over her shoulder.

Alright, definatly an Other.

Feeling puckish, and decidedly annoyed at the probably-sprite, Sam adjusted her position just enough to block most of his veiw from any angle he would be able to acheive.

"Aww." She heard him groan, and smiled. "That's not nice."

Suddenly, the wind blew her sketchpad out of her hands and back behind her. Thuroughly startled, Sam wheeled around to see the boy pick it up.

"Well, what's in here?" he muttered, that irritatingly confident smirk still on his face, beginning to leaf through the smudged, full pages.

Alright, that did it. Sam knew to keep her temper when dealing with the Legends and Others, but there were limits. The annoying winter sprite was going down.

Angrily, she pushed herself off the bench and marched toward the sprite, snatching the book out of his hand.

"It's considered polite to ask before you touch," She said frostily, flipping the cover closed. "I don't care if you're immortal or not; I don't apprieciate people stealing my stuff."

The sprite, far from being angry or condescending, like so many of his kind, looked like he'd been hit by a frying pan.

"Wait. You can see me?!"