“Well, it’s not just me and you. It would be John, Ling, Richard, Elaine, Mark, Renee, and probably Nelle.” Ally muttered.

“Nelle’s coming? She didn’t tell me!” Larry Paul said as his face immediately brightened.

“Great.” Ally muttered. All she had wanted was a little time with him for herself, and she has to say that Nelle was coming.

“Sure I’ll come.” Larry said with a sudden change of mood.

Nelle and Larry had been dating for about 2 months, ever since Ally had embarrassed herself by asking him if he was married at the bar. The father-son team hadn’t worked out. She had decided that she wouldn’t be comfortable as Jonathan’s mother or Michael’s daughter. She was alone… again.

Three days later, the weekend had finally arrived. The wind was frosty, and the sky was cloudy, but they were all going skiing for the weekend. They had rented a jeep with room for nine, so that they could all fit into one car. John was upset about being forced to go, Ling and Richard were in the middle of one of their fights, Elaine and Mark flirted in the back seat while John sat uncomfortably with them. Larry and Nelle were in the middle section, kissing and cuddling, making Ally who, was sitting next to them, sick. Richard drove while he argued with Ling and Renee tried to stay out of it. It was going to be one hell of a weekend.

Once they arrived, Larry and Nelle got a room to their selves, as did Richard and Ling. Mark agreed to sleep on the couch while Renee and Ally shared a room, and Elaine had a room of her own… which wouldn’t be lonely for long. It was a hazy, overcast and cold day. But since they were only there for two days, they decided to make the best of it.

“But it looks so dark outside.” Ling complained.

“Yeah.” Nelle agreed immediately.

“Oh come on guys, lighten up.” Renee said, “And let’s go ski.”

Renee was the first one out the door, followed by Ally, Mark and Elaine, and finally the two couples.

“Renee! Wait!” Ally called as she tripped over her skis and fell flat on her face. Renee skied back expertly and leaned over to help her up.

“I don’t know how to ski.” Ally whispered to her.

“You don’t say.” Renee laughed.

“Shh!” Ally said loudly so that the others, who were already looking, wouldn’t hear.

Renee just laughed and skied away, as the others followed suit, leaving Ally tangled in her own mess.

“Guys!” Ally whined loudly.

Larry turned back to stop and wait for her but Nelle pulled him along with her. He gave her an apologetic look and skied off to the ski lift.

“Great.” Ally muttered as she pushed herself along with her poles. “Just great.”

When she finally got to the ski lift, the others were probably at the top, getting ready to come down. Ally contemplated on waiting for them, but figured that she would just be left behind again. She got on the ski lift alone, and rode to the top of the mountain. It had started to snow pretty hard, and all Ally could see around her was a white haze, almost like a thick fog settling around her. She got off the lift, falling and tripping someone else with her, and looked down the hill. She gulped. Everyone was down, there was only one person at the top with her, and he was already on his way down. The lifts were empty because of the sudden snow, so she decided to try her luck at skiing. She pushed off, and immediately lost control. She couldn’t see 2 feet in front of herself, and to help, she had no clue what she was doing.

“Renee?” She called out shrilly. “Anybody?”

At the bottom of the hill, the group was skiing away. They had gotten one ride down the mountain before Mother Nature had ruined their day.

“Wait.” John said. “Where’s Ally?”

They all looked around and noticed that she was gone.

“Relax. She’ll catch up.” Ling said coldly as they all skied back to their cabin.

“RENNNNNNEEEEEEE!!!!” Ally was screaming at the top of her lungs and she slid out of control down the hill. Suddenly, she went flying.

“Ow. Oh god.” Ally’s voice trembled. She had hit a bush, and flown right over it.

She tried to stand up, but her leg was sticking out at an odd angle, as the other foot rested on it. Both of her poles were gone, along with one of her skis. She sobbed loudly, but calmed herself.

“Someone is bound to come along.” She assured herself. “It’s just a snowstorm. People ski.”

But as time wore on, she was realizing that maybe that she wasn’t so sure.

It was almost nighttime when they realized that Ally had yet to show up.

“Where is she?” Renee worried.

“Maybe one of us should go look.” John said.

“Any volunteers?” Richard asked. “No one. Huh. Might as well wait.”

“I’ll go.” Larry volunteered, standing up out of Nelle’s grip.

“No honey. Stay.” Nelle complained.

“I’ll be back in a minute. I just want to make sure she’s all right. She might have met someone or some people, but it’s better to be safe then sorry.” Larry said as he put on his coat and got his ski equipment.

“Alright. Hurry back.” Nelle said as she stood up and kissed him passionately. When they broke, Larry was out of breath.

“Will do.” He smiled, as he left the cabin.

The cold air was such a shock compared to the warmth of the cabin. He had been sitting beside the fire with Nelle in his lap, roasting marshmallows. Larry shivered and buttoned up his coat. It had cleared up a bit, but he still couldn’t see too much. He went over to the ski lift, and checked his watch. It was 6:45, and already almost completely dark. The ski lift closed at 7:00, so he had come just in time. The ski lift operator smiled at him.

“Are you sure you want to go up? It can be dangerous alone at night, especially with this storm.” He said.

“Nah, I’m alright.” He smiled back.

He rode up to the top, nervously taping his feet together, and looking around him. He couldn’t see to the ground, he would have to go down the mountain slowly.

He got off and put his goggles on. He tightened his scarf, pulled his hat down, and went sailing off, calling Ally’s name.

“Ally?” He called out loudly. “Alllllyyyy!!! Can you hear me?”

He heard a small groan off to his left, and went to examine. He stepped behind a path of bushes, and saw Ally sprawled stiffly across the snow.

“Oh my god!” Larry yelped. “Are you all right?”

Ally didn’t move she just shivered violently. Her hat was gone, and her ears were a shade of red that Larry had never seen. He quickly tore his hat, scarf and coat off, and bundled her up. He noticed that her face was covered in scratches and bruises, and he grimaced visibly.

“Oh Jesus Ally.” He muttered to himself as he took his and her skis off and picked her up. He would carry her to the bottom, and take her to the cabin where he could call her a doctor. He began to walk, shifting her weight. After a couple of minutes, he knew that he couldn’t take much more, but he knew that her life might depend on it. He sat down for a minute and slid down a few feet, then another and another. When he looked up, he had no idea where they were.

“Oh crap.” Larry muttered.

He saw a light in the distance, so he decided to follow it, and soon reached a cabin. He knocked lightly on the door, but no one answered. He kicked the door open, and was surprised when it didn’t resist. He found that it was a rather small, but cozy cabin. He looked around. There was one bed, a fireplace and a small kitchen. There was a small bathroom, and a cupboard full of canned goods. He smiled slightly, and lay Ally down on the bed. He covered her up with the blankets, and immediately got a fire started. He checked his watch and saw that it was past 8:30. They would start to get worried about him soon, too. He got a bucket of water from the sink, and heated it up on the tiny gas stove. Once it was hot enough, he brought it over to where Ally lay, and took her hat off. Her ears were still red, but Larry saw that they weren’t frost bitten, so he sighed in relief. He dabbed a cloth into the water, and ran it over her face and her ears, warming her up. She was still shivering uncontrollably, even as she began to sweat. Larry began to boil two cups of hot water, as he had found tea bags. He brought a cup over to Ally, and tried to sit her up to get her to drink it. She still hadn’t said one word to him, and he was worried that she might have caught pneumonia. She took a couple of sips, and grimaced when she tried to sit up more.

“My-my leg” Ally moaned softly in pain.

“I know. I think it might be broken, but I don’t know where we are. I’m sorry.” Larry said gently.

“What for?” Ally said.

“For leaving you by yourself.” Larry said.

Ally nodded softly.

“Here… Let me see you leg.” Larry said as he began to pull down her snow pants and jeans. Ally began to protest, but stopped when Larry held up a finger to quiet her.

He saw that it was bruised around the knee and twisted to the side, as was her ankle, but he didn’t see any bones that were sticking out.

He breathed another sigh of relief.

“I think it’s just twisted badly. It’s not broken.” Larry said.

“Thank god.” She muttered, her voice still raspy.

“Yeah.” Larry muttered. “At least I know what to do with a sprained ankle. I remember when Sam had one.”

“Who’s Sam?” Ally asked curiously.

Larry changed the subject quickly.

“Come on! Who’s Sam?" Ally asked again.

“My son.” Larry muttered quietly

“Oh.” Ally said, shocked. “I-I didn’t know.”

“Yeah, well neither does Nelle.” Larry muttered again.

“What?” Ally asked in disbelief.

“Yeah. I just like her so much. I don’t want to lose her.” Larry responded.

Ally looked down and didn’t say anything.

“Hey, I’m sorry. Maybe we shouldn’t talk about Nelle.”

“Maybe.” Ally agreed, yawning.

“Oh. You’re tired. Let me just get you ankle wrapped up in something. I think you’ve had enough ice on it. It kept the swelling down quite a bit.” Larry said lightly.

“Okay.” Ally agreed.

By the time Larry had wrapped her ankle tightly in his scarf, she had fallen asleep. Larry put the fire out, and contemplated whether to sleep on the floor or not He decided that he would freeze, so he climbed into bed next to Ally, and lay as far away from her as possible. He fell into a troubled sleep soon after.

The next morning Ally woke up in the early afternoon to hear Larry shuffling around the room.

“Hey.” She said sleepily as she rubbed her eyes and stretched.

“Hey you. How ya feeling?” Larry asked.

“Better.” Ally said.

“That’s good. You hungry?” Larry asked again.

Ally shrugged her shoulders, and nodded. “I guess.”

“Alright.” Larry said.

Ally started to get up, but Larry motioned for her to stop.

“Hey-hey. It’s okay I got it.” Larry said.

“Well, thanks Larry, but I’m gonna have to get up to pee anyway.” Ally said shyly.

“Okay.” Larry said. “I’ll help you up.”

Her hair was a mess, her make up was smeared, and her clothes were wrinkled.

“Oh god. I’m a mess.” Ally said.

“I noticed.” Larry joked as Ally punched him playfully.

Ally hopped over to the bathroom, and emerged several minutes later looking tidied up. She went back to the bed, and took the can of peaches that Larry held out to her.

“Thanks.” She said as she ate hungrily. She hasn’t eaten in over 24 hours.

Larry sat down quietly beside her and folded his hands in his lap.

“Let me ask you a question.” Ally began. “How come we haven’t left yet?”

Larry stood up silently and walked over to open the door, revealing several feet of snow.

“Wow.” Ally said.

“It’s a lot of snow. We wouldn’t be able to walk at all.” Larry said somberly.

Ally looked down and a sob escaped her throat.

“How long are we here for?” She asked.

“A couple of days.” Larry said as he sat down to comfort her. He wrapped his arms around her, and let her cry on his shoulder.

Later that night, they sat next to the fireplace playing Gin with a deck of homemade cards. They were discussing Ally’s case and deciding the best possible way to argue the case.

“I think we should go for the direct approach.” Larry suggested.

Ally just shrugged her shoulders.

“What?” Larry asked.

“I just don’t feel like talking about the case, Lar.” Ally answered.

“Lar, eh? Alright Al.” Larry joked.

Ally gave him a warning look, and put down her cards.

“Gin.” She said.

“Crap.” Larry sighed. “Another round?”

“Nah. Tell me more about Sam.” Ally said gently.

“Like what?” Larry sighed.

“Anything. Everything. About his mother, whatever.” Ally said.

“Well, he lives in Detroit.” Larry said.

“I thought your ex-wife lives in Boston?”

“She does.” Larry answered quietly.

“Oh.” Ally was at a loss for words.

“I know. I just feel so embarrassed.” Larry said.

“For what? Having had a family?” Ally asked.

“No. I let my son grow up with out a father.” Larry sounded exasperated.

“Then why don’t you go back?” Ally asked.

“I have Nelle here. My life is all here now. I can’t just keep picking up and moving around all the time.” Larry answered.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to press the issue.” Ally said immediately.

“You didn’t. It’s nice to have someone to talk to about it.” Larry smiled.

Ally yawned. “What time is it?”

“It’s 1:30. Wow, it’s late.” Larry said as he also yawned.

Ally hopped over to the bed and crawled onto the left side of the bed.

“Hey! That’s my side.” Larry complained as he blew out the fire.

“No it’s not.” Ally said.

“Yes it is.”

“No it isn’t” Ally protested.

“Then how come I slept there last night?” Larry asked smugly.

“Because I was practically unconscious and you put me on the right side.” Ally whined.

“Oh.” Larry realized. “Well, if we’re here tomorrow then I get the left side.”

“We’ll see.” She said as she rolled over and fell asleep.

During the night, Ally tossed and turned violently, at one point throwing Larry off of the bed. Larry groaned and lay back down beside her, moving as far away from her as possible. Just as soon as he started to drift off, Ally started to scream, and her screaming drifted off into sobs, until she woke up and began to cry.

“Ally, it’s okay. I’m here.” Larry comforted her.

She continued to cry to herself and turned away from him. Larry got up and kneeled beside her head.

“Ally… I’m here for you. It’s okay. Please don’t cry. It was just a dream, a bad dream.” Larry said as he pushed her hair out of her face, and dried her tears.

She began to calm down, and Larry went back to bed beside her. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, and hugged her. He felt her take a few deep breaths and calm down. Before they knew it, they were both asleep again.

The next morning, Larry woke hearing Ally jumping around. He smiled lazily and got up, stretching.

“It’s cold in here.” He shivered.

“I know.” Ally said appearing wearing Larry’s jacket.

“That’s my jacket.” Larry pointed out.

“I know.” She hugged it around herself.

“Well… can I have it back.” Larry asked.

“Mmm… No.” Ally shook her head.

“Well what am I gonna wear?”

Ally pointed to her own jacket.

“No no no.” Larry shook his head. “You are mistaken. This is MY jacket.” He said pointing at what she was wearing. “That is YOUR jacket.” He pointed hers out.

Ally started to jump away, but Larry ran up behind her, and tackled her. He pushed her down on the bed, avoiding her bad leg. He landed lightly on top of her. They looked each other in the eyes, and Larry noticed how beautiful she was. He remembered hearing somewhere. “Being beautiful is being able to be natural, and still look great.” She was definitely not trying to look great. She had on no makeup, nor fancy clothes, but she looked beautiful. Larry bent down slowly and began to kiss her softly and tenderly. They both sunk into the kiss, and soon, Larry was taking off her jacket. The kisses began to get hungrier, when suddenly they heard voices outside. Larry stopped what he was doing, and backed up abruptly, trying to understand what he had just done. The door swung open, and the gang all entered along with 3 members of the resorts rescue team.

“Oh my god! Larry!” Nelle ran into the room and threw her arms around his neck. He hugged her back tightly, and smelled her hair. He kissed her softly, not remembering what had just happened a minute ago until he turned around and saw the hurt expression on Ally’s face.

“Are you okay?” John and Renee asked Ally immediately.

She nodded slightly, her eyes stung with tears. Not because they had been rescued… but because of something else. She brushed them up, and stood up on one foot.

“Glad you guys are okay. What happened to your leg Ally?” Richard asked immediately.

“I don’t know, but it hurts.” Ally said.

“We have a snowmobile outside. We’ll take you back to the lodge to a doctor.” One of the rescue workers said.

Ally began to hop to the door, when Larry offered to help her.

“I’m fine.” Ally said coldly as she brushed his hand angrily off her shoulder, leaving him looking stunned. They took her out, and left the rest of the gang plus one worker with them.

“Well. We’ve found everyone. Let’s head back.” The worker said.

“Yeah let’s get out of here. This 3 day weekend was too much.” John said, as the rest of them agreed. Nelle cuddled up to Larry, and he distractedly hugged her as they walked out the door, back home.

It was one week after the ski incident, and Ally had yet to speak to Larry. He had tried to call her several times about the case, but she had dropped it. She wasn’t interested in it anymore. She had always made up some little excuse to get out of seeing or talking to him. Nelle hadn’t noticed that anything was up in the air, she just paid attention to herself and sometimes, Larry. Ally was sitting in her office, when she glanced at her watch and saw that it was 8:30p.m.

“Great” She sighed as she got up, stretched, and started organizing her papers. She picked up a pair of crutches and was about to exit, when Larry walked in.

“Ally.” He said.

Ally jumped in surprise and hit her bad foot on her desk. She grabbed her foot in pain and began jumping around cursing to herself. The site was too much for Larry to bear, so he began to laugh.

Ally gave him a cold stare until he calmed down.

“What do you want?” Ally asked icily.

“To talk” Larry said smoothly.

“No thanks.” Ally said.

“What do you mean?” Larry questioned.

“I mean that I don’t want to talk to you. The door’s behind you.” Ally motioned.

“What is this? What is the matter with you?” Larry asked.

“What’s the matter with me? What about you?” Ally yelled angrily at him.

Suddenly Larry’s cell phone rang, and he turned around and picked it up.

“Hello? Oh hi sweetie. No. no don’t worry I’m coming. I’ll be there soon. Okay bye. Yeah, I love you too. Bye.” Larry said into his cell phone. He turned around and saw that Ally had disappeared.

“Ally?” He said running out the door and catching the elevator just as it was about to slide shut.

“Jesus Ally! What’s your problem?” Larry said, out of breath.

“You are!” Ally yelled angrily.

“Why?” Larry asked in the same tone.

“Because you don’t go around kissing me when you don’t mean it!” Ally said, her voice breaking.

“So that’s what this is about.” Larry thought to himself.

“I’m-I’m sorry.” He said aloud.

“You’re sorry?” Ally scoffed. “I really liked you, okay? I helped you when you asked me to, I came to work every day dressed up, and you just go out with Nelle. You really didn’t have to get my hopes up for nothing with that kiss.” Ally snapped as she got off the elevator quickly, leaving Larry stunned.

At dinner that night with Nelle, all he could think about was Ally. And the fact that Nelle couldn’t stop talking about herself. He had never noticed it before, but he began to pick up on more of Nelle’s traits.

She didn’t even notice that something was wrong with him…

“Nelle…” Larry interrupted her. “We need to talk.”

Ally was settled in front of the TV set with a mug of hot chocolate and the remote. Renee was gone for the night with one of her latest flings. There was a knock at the door and Ally opened it cautiously. She sighed in exasperation when she saw who it was.

“You were wrong.” Larry said simply.

“How?” Ally asked, confused.

“I did mean it.” Larry smiled slightly.

Ally felt herself melt at his smile. He pushed the hair out of her face and leaned in to kiss her slowly. Their lips met, and the electricity was incredible.

“Wait. What about Nelle?” Ally asked, pulling away.

“She’s gone. I realized she wasn’t right for me.” Larry answered.

Ally hugged him fiercely.

“I never did thank you for taking care of me this weekend.”

“My pleasure.” Larry hugged her back and rested his head on top of hers. He couldn’t believe that all this time, the only person he would ever need, was right in front of him. He had found the one. His search for love was finally over. He had it all.