" You mean you actually walked all the way back to my house ? " she asked suspiciously.
" Well yeah... I didn't have much choice. " Tony rubbed his cold hands together. " I figured that'd be easier than trying to find an open station. "
She took her eyes off the road to glance at him.
" What ? You think I'm playin' a trick on you ? " Tony chuckled.
" Are you ? "
She's serious, Tony thought smiling. " I don't know. Is it working ? "
" What ? "
Tony rolled his eyes " Just kidding, just kidding. Don't worry, I'm not playing any trick on you. I'm really runnin' out of gas. How much do I owe you for the tank of gas by the way ?
- Oh I don't know Tony, we'll talk about it when we'll find your van " She was exhausted.
" Well it shouldn't be too far now but with all that snow we may have passed it already.
- You think ?
- I really don't know Angela... we can't even see the road. " he shook his head.

Tony glanced at her tentatively, not sure if he should go on. " Some night, huh ? " he tried to sound casual. As soon as the words escaped his lips he realized how it sounded but she didn't seem to notice.
" Yes... Well, morning, actually " she laughed softly " if someone had told me a few hours ago that I'd be looking for a van in a snowstorm at 1:30... "
Tony checked his watch " Hey, that's right, we only met a few hours ago. " he murmured to himself. Angela noticed the surprise in his voice " Seemed longer to me too. " she smiled " I mean, you're so easy to squabble with... "
" Yeah, I have that kind of face " Tony gave her his thanks-a-lot smile.
" Oh I'm sorry " she giggled as she put her hand over her mouth " What I meant was I'm not usually so comfortable around strangers. But you're so easy to talk to that uh... bickering with you feels... natural " she didn't know how to put her feet out of her mouth.
" Oh. Well, thanks... I think. " he laughed.

Tony pensively took a look through the window to spot his van but he couldn't see anything. The wind was blowing so hard now that the car tended to zigzag. " By the way, I'm really sorry for all the trouble. I hope I didn't wake you up.
- Oh no, not at all. I was hoping to see you. " she stopped. " I mean, I'm glad you came back " realizing this wasn't going right she turned her head, embarrassed " Did I just say that ? " she whispered. He didn't answer right away but she could feel his gaze on her. When she finally met his eyes he nodded knowingly and smiled " I'm glad too ".

He hadn't finished his sentence that a gust of wind deflected the car. Angela gave a sharp tug on the steering wheel but it was too late. She shrieked as the car went off the road and slid uncontrollably down the slope.

" Angela, the brake ! " Tony shouted but she was covering her eyes with her hands in panic. He tried to take the steering wheel but before he could do anything the car turned on itself and hit a tree. Tony's head hit something and he lost consciousness.

A few minutes later he finally opened his eyes. It took him a while to understand where he was. As soon as he recalled the accident he turned his head only to find out he was alone in the car. The driver's door was wide open and there was no trace of Angela.

Tony's heart pounded violently as hundreds of sordid thoughts rushed through his mind. He suddenly realized that his eyebrow was bleeding and he had a terrible headache. Tony ignored the pain and climbed out of the car to find her. Maybe she saw he was unconscious and she went for help. He tried to calm himself down. It was too dark to be sure where he was putting his feet but a rather unpleasant sensation of cold and wetness told him that the snow was reaching his mid-calf. He took a few steps away. Pretty soon the Jaguar was no more than an indistinct form, embedded in the snowstorm. He stopped.

" ANGELA ? Angela, where are ya ? " he shouted in the night. He listened carefully but the only thing he could hear was the deafening hiss of snow flakes in his ears.

His mind raced as he went back to the car. After a few minutes of groping in the dark he spotted her lifeless body lying in the snow. His heart stopped. " Oh no... " He kneeled beside her. " Angela ? Angela, can you hear me ? " He leaned over her. Her shallow breathing worried him. There was a dark spot on the snow under her left cheek which, he instantly understood, was her blood. She must have hurt her head against the door when she was ejected from the car. " Oh Angela, please wake up. " Tony panicked.

Okay. What do I do now ? Help. I gotta get some help. He didn't know where they were and he couldn't see anything. He couldn't bring himself to leave her alone anyway. There must be another solution, come on, think. Phone ! There's a phone in her car ! " Micelli, you're a genius " he congratulated himself as he jumped in the front seat and tried to turn the ignition. He picked up the receiver. Okay now, let's see... How does this thing work ? Shouldn't be too different from a regular phone. He pushed randomly a few buttons. Nothing happened. " Of course, it doesn't work. That'd be too easy ! " he said through gritted teeth.

Since Angela didn't seem to be injured anywhere else, he carefully picked her up from the snow and sat with her on the back seats. He knew she needed medical assistance but he didn't want to get lost with her in the snowstorm so he decided to wait inside for a while. He prayed that her baby wasn't hurt and that she'd wake up soon. The car had enough battery to turn the heaters on but an icy wind rushing through the broken window made him shiver. Tony put away her damp coat and pulled her on his laps.

He took her in his arms to keep her warm, his jacket covering the two of them. Her lips had turned purple and her skin was so cold under his touch that he kept checking if she was still breathing. God, let her be alright ! Tony pleaded as he started rubbing gently her arms and her cold hands in his. If only she could wake up. This is all my fault. If anything happens to her or her baby I'll never forgive myself. Why can't I just mind my own business ? This would never have happened.

Her head was delicately resting in the crook of his neck, her faint breath on his skin hardly reassuring him. The only good news was her head had stopped bleeding. He was so tired and so cold that he had to struggle to stay awake and keep an eye on her. Déjà vu, he thought. Suddenly he remembered all those sleepless nights where he held Marie close to him, whispering in her ear that everything would be alright while he was really afraid he was lying to her.

Was it his curse that every women who meant something to him should die ? First his mother, then Marie, and now this woman he barely knew and whom he shouldn't feel so close to. He couldn't help it though.

Feeling an overwhelming need to protect her, he settled her more deeply in his embrace and inhaled in her sweet scent. It reminded him of spring flowers in the sun. " C'mon Angela, wake up, don't do this to me " he rubbed her arms with more energy. He couldn't give up.

Noticing her lips were slowly starting to turn back into a soft pink he doubled his efforts, gently rubbing her neck and over her heart. The next thing he knew he felt her hot breath on his face and when her eyes fluttered open he could have cried with relief.

She was weak and her head was hurting badly but she seemed to remember everything before the accident. When a tear rolled down her cheek he wiped it with his thumb, fighting the urge to kiss it away. " Hey what is this ? Don't you think we're wet enough ? " he jocked to lighten the mood. But the truth was he felt his own eyes welling up with tears and he wondered if he'd ever, in his life, been so grateful. " Come on, let's get you to the hospital now, I'll carry you "

Suddenly the storm wasn't such a huge obstacle after all.