Crammed in the front seat with Danny and the tow truck driver named Steve, Linda shimmied a little in her seat. "Heat!" She laughed, putting her hands up to the heat vents.

Steve grinned, his thick Minnesota accent standing out. "I'm glad I got to you two on time. You looked like you were about to be human popsicles!"

"That'd be an accurate assessment!" Linda almost yelled. The heat it the tow truck was loud... maybe too loud.

"Thanks for coming," Danny thanked him again.

"No problem. Say, you don't mind if we listen to some music, do you?" Steve grinned when the couple shook their heads. He turned on the radio and switched it to the cd.

Linda grinned when the familiar notes started playing.

On the twenty third day of the month of September, in an early year of a decade not too long before our own...

She leaned forward in her seat to get a better look at Steve. "Have you seen this live, Steve?"

"I saw the movie in theaters. The kids love it."

"I can't wait to show our kids that movie."

"Got any kids?"

"Not yet. I'm still in college, so we're going to wait... about what, babe? A year you think?"

"Ultimate;y it's up to you, isn't it?" Danny looked to her, "You gotta go through all that shit."

Linda set her suitcase down on the floor of the air b . She peeled off her scarf as she took it in; it reminded her of her sister's beach house. Big and open and not enough things to make it truly homey.

Danny's voice broke her thoughts, "do you think these people would mind if we—"

"Oh my gosh, do not finish that sentence or I will slug you."

He laughed at her dramatics then grabbed her suitcase. He put them on the bed, "I could really go for a sandwich or something right now."

"You know, I'm hungry too. But more than that, I'm still pretty cold. How about that bath?"

Danny smiled as he dropped one of his sweaters, something Linda, Erin, and Brie insisted that made any man hotter.

"It's a scientific fact!" Linda exclaimed, cheeks rosy from the alcohol she was drinking.

"She's absolutely right," Brie agreed while Erin nodded vigorously. "Sweaters make men ten times hotter."

"That sounds excellent," he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a kiss.

"This is nice," Linda commented as she leaned against Danny in the warm water.

"Being naked together?"

She rolled her eyes, "look, I know that this trip is for relaxing and being able to have sex without our roommate messing it up, but just hold your horses, alright? I just like being with you. We haven't seen a lot of each other this week."

He kissed her shoulder, and for the most part, she ignored him.

"It's nice to get away from it all. Away from the city and our jobs. And the family... Pressures are all gone."

"Except—"

"Shut up!" She laughed and turned around. She splashed the warm water in his face, holding back her laughter.

"You fight dirty," he said, wiping the water from his face. She only smirked and raised an eyebrow.

But before he could retaliate by splashing water or throwing the washcloth at her, her stomach grumbles loudly, making them both laugh.

"I'm so hungry," she told him with a smile. Usually soup filled her up, but not today, she guessed. Hollow leg and all that.

"Let's get that conditioner out of your hair and order something."

She turned around so he could wash the conditioner out. After drying off, she dried her hair quickly, but didn't bother styling it. "Has it stopped snowing? Maybe we can go out somewhere."

The snow had let up now, and traffic seemed to be going at a normal speed. So Danny called a taxi. Turning to Linda, he asked, "where do you want to go?"

They hadn't packed clothes for fancy restaurants, and Ruby Tuesday would do more than satisfy her hunger.

"Ruby Tuesday," she answered. She paused, "how are we going to get there? We don't have a car right now."

"This is New York. You stick your hand in the air, and a taxi appears. It's city magic."

She laughed at his serious tone. "Fair point."

Just as Danny had said, they easily got a taxi and arrived at the restaurant all in one piece. They ordered beer and wine respectively, and Danny laughed when the waitress asked to see Linda's ID.

"I'm twenty two," she mumbled grumpily, handing the waitress her ID.

"We just have to check- especially people like you, who look younger." She handed the ID back to Linda. "Do you know what you'd like to order?"

"Can you give us a few minutes?" Danny asked, and she nodded and headed to her next table.

Looking iver her menu, a memory sprang to the front of her mind. Linda smiled, "remember that blizzard we had in February in high school? We didn't have school for two weeks."

"And despite not having school, you still drove over i your tiny VW beetle."

"I was bored at home!" Linda laughed, "Besides, it was more fun with me."

~ February 1992~

"Okay, Kid," Danny started. "It's us against them, and you wanna win, right?"

Jamie nodded, adjusting his hat. "Let's crush 'em!"

On the other side of the yard, Linda worked on rolling a snowball for the base of their snowman. "Too bad Erin can't come out."

"Yeah," Joe agreed, "but she's sick. And Mom annoyingly makes us stay inside when sick."

"Mothers know best. Well, some do. Yours certainly does."

"Yeah," he agreed, albeit a little begrudgingly.

Every so often, someone - usually Danny- would yell about how their snowman was going to be the best. And the other team would refute it passionately.

"We need someone without a bias to judge the snowmen," Joe said, standing up and looking towards his brothers.

"And that can't be Erin, because she'll side with you," Danny agreed. "She always sides with the girl."

"Hey!" Linda called, a smile playing on her lips. "We girls need to stick together against men like you who think girl power isn't a good thing!"

That comment resulted in a snowball being thrown at her and hitting her shoulder. She bent down to make one, Joe following suit, and soon their snowmen were forgotten.

The air was filled with squeals- from Jamie and Linda- and laughter from all for of them. Hats and scarves were thrown to the ground, except for Linda's which she put on the porch. It was a decently even fight- except for when Danny cheated, and no one could figure out how one would cheat in a snowball fight. They only called a truce when Jamie dramatically threw himself onto the snow covered ground and declared, "I can't throw anymore!"

"Truce?" Joe offered.

Linda and Danny nodded, "truce!"

Joe and Linda walked over to Danny and Jamie, both teams faces flushed from the activity and the cold. Jamie sat up, "we should bring something in for Erin, because she missed all the fun."

Linda smiled, "That's sweet, Jamie, but if we bring snow in, it'll melt."

"We can keep it in the freezer!" He suggested, proud of his solution.

"Snow would still melt in the freezer, and I'm pretty sure Mom would have a cow," Danny sat next to Jamie, and Linda and Joe followed.

"But Grandma and Grandpa would think it'd be hilarious," Joe smiled.

"Dad would too," Jamie tried pitching for the idea. If everyone found it funny, it'd be okay, right?

"I'd laugh," Linda put her two cents in. "I think it's pretty funny."

"We should do it then. As a joke. After all, Mom laughed when Erin tried to save her flowers in the fridge from her first bouquet," Danny remembered Erin being so disappointed when the flowers wilted anyways.

"Actually, I think Erin would laugh too," Joe had a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

~ Present day. 1997~

"We never did decide who won the contest," Danny mused while chewing his steak.

"That's because we were focused on smuggling a snowball in the house."

He grinned, "everyone laughed, and Erin appreciated the thought."

"I miss those days. You know, when we were carefree and our only concern was getting decent grades."

He sighed dramatically, "now we're old and grey."

"Wow, you're a bigger drama queen then Erin is."

He gasped, "You take that back!"

Linda shook her head, "can't take back the truth."

"You should be glad we're in a restaurant."

"Or what? You'd wrestle me? Pin me down? Pinning me would only make it sexier."

"Exactly," he said with a smile.

She shook her head and laughed, "eat your steak, officer."

"Okay, Nurse," he grumbled, and they both laughed.

Despite the rocky beginning, this was turning out to be a great trip.

"So did you two have a good time?" Joe asked as he scooped potatoes onto his plate.

"It was fantastic!" Linda grinned.

"Just the break we needed." Danny confirmed, stabbing some beans.

"A trip for the books."

At the time, no one was aware of the surprise that statement held.