A/N: Set in season 4. Densimber day 12.

"This sucks," Deeks said, breathing out a cloud of icy fog along with the two words.

"Because I didn't hear you the first 20 times," Kensi grumbled.

"Well, it still sucks." He rubbed his hands together with hope of bringing some warmth. If anything, it only made him more aware of the cold.

Of all the times for there to be blizzard-like conditions in the Midwest, it would just have to be when the one time they were pursuing an active case in Indiana.

Last week, Gabriel Heeds had stolen several gigabytes of sensitive data from his company, leading the FBI on a wild good chase across California before eventually disappearing. At that point, the FBI had asked other agencies to assist in pursuing Gabriel. Based on solid leads they received, they'd headed to his hometown of Winamac, Indiana.

They arrived three days ago, set up camp at the town's Comfort Inn, and started searching for Gabriel. You'd think wouldn't be that would be difficult in a town with a population of less than 2,500, but the locals were pretty close-mouthed. They'd spent the first two days were spent traipsing around the quaint down town area and the spacious farm land.

At first, the snow had seemed seemed kind of charming as it coated the little neighborhoods. Snow didn't make its way to LA all that often, so Deeks might have made a snowman or two and even convinced Kensi to make a Snow Angel before they headed off for another round of interviews.

Now, even Deeks could admit that the weather was beginning to get old, especially as the snow piled higher and the temps dipped lower. Even with a wool hat, coat, and gloves, the cold air still managed to seep through. It didn't help that he knew Sam and Callen were back at the reasonably warm hotel while they battled the gravel and dirt backroads to follow up on their single lead of the day.

Needing something to pass the time, and off Kensi's less than careful driving—he winced as the tires lost traction for a few seconds—he opened the glove compartment and started sifting through the contents.

"What are you looking for?"

"Your candy stash," he told Kensi. There was a half-empty water bottle, a used up chapstick, and several Twix wrappers. Any snacks were decidedly absent.

"Hah, I moved it," Kensi said smugly.

"By which you mean you ate it all."

"I did not!"

He grinned at Kensi's instant protest. Even after three years together, she still tried to deny her massive sweet tooth. Like he hadn't watched her eat a stack of red velvet pancakes this morning.

"Uh-huh, then where's that box of 100 Grand bars you bought last week?" he teased.

"I plead the 5th counselor," Kensi said, leaning forward to squint out the windshield. "The the next turn should be coming up soon. Let me know if you see a Forest Drive."

"I haven't seen any signs for the last two miles," Deeks told her, peering through the passenger window. He grabbed his phone and turned on the GPS. "Crap. Still no internet connection. Are you sure you didn't pass it up?"

"Yes. Mrs. Marsh was very specific about her directions." She glared at him, pulling her gaze back to the road almost immediately as the tires skidded across a patch of ice.

"Ok, well I'm thinking we should probably turn around if we don't find it soon. It's going to get dark in a couple hours and—Kens, look out!"

A deer darted from the brush along the road, freezing in the middle of the street. Kensi turned the steering wheel sharply, pumping the breaks relentlessly as the tires spun and then skidded on the freezing snow, sending them straight towards a snowbank.

A/N: Oh dear, whatever shall happen to them? Don't worry, there will be a part 2.

Note, I live in Indiana so I'm allowed to complain about the weather. For anyone not familiar, there is indeed a town called Winamac, which is quite small and has a lot of farm land. I took a bit of creative license with the other particulars though.