Laura sighed as she finished wiping the table off.  The kitchen and the rest of the house were finally clean.  Perhaps now she would take the dogs, Kasey and Freddie, for a quick walk in the snow.  The snow had been falling gently for the past hour and was beautiful on the fields overlooking the farmhouse where she lived.  Kasey loved rolling around in the snow and plowing through the large snowdrifts that were sure to accumulate overnight.  The meteorologists were calling for a large snowstorm to occur over the next 72 hours. 

“Come on, Kasey and Freddie,” Laura called as she put on her boots and warm winter coat.  Both dogs came running from the living room as she opened the back door and stepped into the cold.  The dogs took off running toward the barn, there had probably been a raccoon or a groundhog out there, and the dogs were trying their best to scare it off. 

“You guys are crazy,” Laura remarked as she watched the dogs run in circles playing the dog version of tag.  She lifted the digital camera she had brought with her and snapped a couple of pictures of the dogs cute faces covered in snow. 

“I absolutely love it here,” she said softly to herself as she walked around the barn and down to the brook.  The water in the brook was just beginning to freeze as the temperature dropped.  That didn’t stop the dogs from sniffing around the edge and crossing the ice to get to the other side and explore. 

Laura called for the dogs to come as she headed up the hill back to the house.  It was starting to get dark and she was getting hungry. 

JC looked around at the snow falling in the glow of his headlights as he slowed down the car he was driving.  He had no idea where he was and the snow was coming down harder and harder.  There was so much snow on the road he couldn’t even see where the lines were. 

“This is another one of your brilliant ideas, JC,” he said in disgust to himself.  He had spent Christmas in Chicago with his parents and had decided to take off by himself for a couple of days.  The stress of his life was getting to him.  Even though JC was not yet 35, he felt much, much older.  All his friends had someone important in their life and yet JC was struggling to find his match. 

JC had struck out on his own; he didn’t have to be back to work until February so he was trying to get his head straight before he went back to his busy lifestyle.  JC had made no plans, taking only his luggage and a map, deciding to leave his GPS system at home.  His cell phone was turned off so the outside world would be unable to reach him. 

JC had been listening to cd’s all day as he drove and hadn’t been listening to the weather forecast.  He flipped on the radio and tried to find a station that came in clear enough to listen to some weather.  He had no idea where he was, somewhere in Ohio he thought. 

“Why didn’t I stop at that last town?  I could be sitting in a nice warm hotel room and have room service bring me whatever I wanted.  But noooo, I’m driving in the middle of who knows where, on who knows what road, with who knows how many inches on snow already on the road!  JC you are an idiot!”  He felt a little better after his rant. 

JC slowed down even more, he was barely crawling now in the car.  “Ok, look, just make it a little further, surely there has to be a town coming up somewhere and I can check into a hotel until the storm lets up.” 

Unfortunately as he finished his sentence, he hit a large snowdrift in the middle of the road and lost control of the car.  JC felt his breath catch in his throat as his car started spinning toward several very large trees. 

“Nooooo,” he yelled as his car hit a tree and everything went black. 

Laura looked up from her book to the dog whining at her feet and smiled.  “Alright, let’s go outside one more time tonight and then we are going to bed.”  It was already 10:30 p.m., normally she would be in bed by now, but since she was on vacation had decided to finish the book before she went to bed. 

Laura grabbed a coat and slipped on a pair of shoes to let the dogs out.  She didn’t want the dogs to run off after an animal tonight.  She just wanted to go back into the nice warm house. 

But as she opened the door to let the dogs back in, Laura thought she heard a voice.  She paused before she went into the house, listening again. 

This time she heard a faint voice crying for help.  Glancing across her yard, she gasped as she saw a man in the faint light of the night light coming towards here stumbling with blood running down his face.  He was struggling to make it through the large snowdrifts.  Over the past several hours, snow had steadily fallen and the snowplows were unable to keep up with it, even emergency vehicles were unable to get out until the snow abated some. 

Laura quickly stepped off the back porch and ran as fast as she could toward the man.  Several of the drifts were already up to her waist.  The man collapsed just as she reached him.  Laura grabbed his arm and put it over her shoulder as she struggled to get him back on his feet. 

“Ok, sir, can you make it just a few more steps?  We’re almost to the house where we can get you nice and warm.” 

JC groaned as he stumbled back on his feet, every movement was a jarring reminder of his head injury.  “My head hurts,” he said softly to the woman who was trying to help him through the drifts that appeared to grow before his eyes.

“I know,” the woman remarked in sympathy, “but just a few more steps to the house.”  All of a sudden, the woman gasped as JC stumbled and took them both down.

“I’m sorry,” JC cried out. 

“Trust me, it’ll be alright.”

Laura was somehow able to get them back on their feet and into the back door.  She closed the door behind them as she guided JC through the kitchen to sit him down on the couch in the living room.  The dogs were jumping all around as they discovered someone new in their home.  Laura quickly grabbed them and shut them into the bedroom, so she could get a better look at the man’s injuries. 

As she reentered the living room, she noticed the man shaking uncontrollably. 

“I’m s-s-s-oooo c-c-c-ooold.”  He stammered.  “I can’t feel my hands and feet.”

Laura quickly grabbed a couple of blankets from the couch and placed them over the man’s body.  “Here start warming up; I’m more concerned about your head right now.” 

Laura brushed the hair back from his face as she tried to locate the bleeding.  She tried not to notice how the soft wavy hair felt against her fingers or the chiseled face that was just inches away.  He looked very familiar.  “I’m going to grab a cloth so I can wash the blood off real quick.  I’ll be right back.  What’s your name?”  She asked as she left to quickly grab a wet cloth. 

“JC.”

“Well, JC it’s nice to meet you, I’m Laura.”  She replied as she stepped back into the room and sat down next to him. 

“Let’s see what we have here.”  Laura gently washed away the majority of the blood and discovered a large bump near his temple.  The bleeding was slowly stopping so Laura lightly bandaged the cut before turning her attention to getting him warm. 

“How long have you been out in the cold?”

“Ummm….the last thing I remember was 6:15 on the clock.”

Laura’s eyes shot to the clock, noting it was now almost 11 p.m., before meeting his startling blue eyes.  He had been outside for hours!

“So where are you coming from or where are you going?”  She asked lightly, trying to calm him down and keep him talking as she reached under the blanket for his bare hand.  He hadn’t been wearing any gloves and Laura could see that he could barely move his fingers.  Laura was praying that there was no frostbite as she felt how cold his hand was. 

“Ummm….I spent Christmas in Chicago and was just taking a road trip,” he muttered still shaking. 

“Ahhh..  I see.  Just seeing the sights around the booming metropolis that is here, right?”  Laura laughed lightly trying to keep the stress out of her voice as she rubbed his hand gently between her hands trying to put some warmth back into his body.    

JC couldn’t stop shaking.  He had never been so cold in his life. 

“Where is that?”  He asked through chattering teeth. 

“It’s a little town in northwest Ohio.  Blink and you’ll miss it, we’re north of Columbus.  Did you have a particular destination in mind?”

“N-not r-really.”  JC tried to get his mind off how cold he was, but all he could concentrate on was the feel of her hands on his. 

Laura kept rubbing warmth into his hands as she asked him what had happened if he could remember. 

JC paused before answering trying to remember.  “I think I was lost, I was yelling at myself for not stopping at the last town and getting a room.  Then I hit a snowdrift or something and started spinning out of control.  I hit a tree I think and when I woke up the car was off and all I could see were the lights from your house.  It was like a beacon in the darkness calling me home.”  JC finished softly, almost to himself. 

Laura laughed nervously, she must have caught the last line, but didn’t comment on it. 

“I’m glad I’m not the only one who talks to myself or yells at myself.  I do it all the time, sometimes I think that’s the only way to have an intelligent conversation.  If I do it at work, I tell the people to just smile and nod to agree with me!”

JC laughed, he was beginning to feel slightly warmer.  “I tell people that all the time too!”

“I don’t want to put ice on your head until you are warm, but would you like some Tylenol or Advil to help with your headache?”

“Anything would be great to help with the pounding right now.”

Laura walked into the kitchen and grabbed two pills and filled a glass with water before returning to the couch next to JC.  “Can you hold these or do you want me to hold them?”  Laura asked. 

JC tried to grab the pills, but found his hands were still not working.  Laura smiled at him gently and told him to open his mouth.  She placed a pill on his tongue careful not to touch more of him than necessary.  She placed the glass of water at his lips and carefully tipped it so his could swallow the pill.  Then she repeated it with the second pill. 

“While that kicks in, do you mind if I take off your shoes and socks to check for frostbite?”

“Ya know…that’s actually the first time I’ve ever heard that line used before, but no I don’t mind, they actually feel like they are going to fall off.”

“Well, I know that if my feet are cold then I’m freezing, but get my feet warm and then I’m good,” Laura said as she sat on the floor in front of him. 

JC moaned as she eased the shoe and sock off his right foot, he hoped they didn’t smell too bad, but decided that didn’t matter as much as it felt as if thousands of pins were stabbing him in his foot as she lightly rubbed it to get warm. 

“I’m sorry,” Laura said and she turned her attention to the other foot.

“It’s alright,” JC breathed through the pain. 

“Look I don’t want this to come out the wrong way but,” Laura said hurriedly as she blushed, “I think you’ll warm up faster if you take a shower.  I have some really warm pajamas that you can put on after and then while you take a shower, I’ll make you some hot chocolate to warm up the inside.  Plus it will get all the blood out of your hair.”

JC smiled as he realized she was truly embarrassed talking about him in the shower. 

“That actually sounds good, I have to warm up somehow, right?”

“Alright, just wait here, I’ll get the pajamas and everything.”  Laura said as she jumped up to get them. 

Laura ran upstairs to get the pajamas out of a plastic tub, she didn’t use them herself, just dressed up in them for fun when she chaperoned at a kids camp. 

“You are so stupid, Laura,” she said to herself as she took them out of the tub.  “You have JC Chasez down there and you just asked him to take a shower.  Ahhhh….snap out of it and help him, he’s injured and he needs your help.”  After her pep talk, she went back down the stairs, but detoured to the bathroom to turn on the water. 

Laura turned the water on, it was almost cold, but she knew once he got in it would feel like it was burning him.  Then she laid out towels and the pajamas she had retrieved.  She was so thankful she had just cleaned the bathroom earlier in the day.  Once she finished, she walked back into the living room to see JC try and stand. 

“Whoa,” JC said as he swayed on his feet.  Laura rushed over and put his arm around her shoulder to steady him. 

“Are you alright,” Laura asked as she supported his taller frame. 

“Yeah, I think I just stood up too fast.”

“Ok,” Laura said doubtfully.  “The water is running, it’s not very hot, but I think it will feel much hotter to you, just adjust it to whatever temperature feels right.  Just throw your clothes in the hamper and I’ll get them washed for you.”  Laura rushed through the instructions as she led him to the bathroom. 

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?”  Laura looked at him as he rested his weight on the counter of the sink.  His face had paled considerably over the last few moments. 

“Yeah……..  I’ll be fine once I’m warmed up.” 

“Just don’t pass out or drown or anything alright?”  Laura said lightly.  “If you need anything, let me know.  Do you want some hot chocolate?”

“Ummm…no, what I want more than anything is to lie down and get rid of this pounding in my head.”

“That can be arranged,” Laura said as she shut the door to the bathroom behind her. 

JC sighed as he stepped out of the shower, which had been the most painful shower in his life.  It felt as if he were being stabbed with needles on every inch of his body.  And although the water hadn’t been that warm to start with, he had barely turned it hotter than lukewarm.  He grabbed a towel, dried off, and tried to get some of the moisture out of his hair. 

He was trying to figure out how he got into these situations.  Here he was stranded, no car, no one knew where he was, alone with a woman that he hoped wasn’t a crazy fan who would go public with the situation.  Trust was hard to give, especially in his situation.  So many people had already broken the trust he had given.  JC had become somewhat jaded in his life.  Everyone wanted something from him in exchange for his time or money.  He just had to wait and see what Laura wanted from him in exchange for giving him shelter. 

JC grabbed the pajamas Laura had left for him and gasped in shock.  “What the heck?  So she’s going to get a picture of me in these pajamas and sell it.”  He glanced around the small bathroom, right now he had no choice but to put them on.  The pajamas were like an adult’s version of footy pajamas, only without the feet in them.

“They look absolutely ridiculous!” 

JC hesitantly opened the door, subconsciously waiting for a flash of a camera.  No flash came.  He saw Laura sitting on the couch reading a book that she put down when she saw him out of the corner of her eye. 

“Do you feel better?”

“Yeah, I actually do.  My head is just killing me right now though.  Is there a place where I can lay down?”

Laura got up and went through a door just off the bathroom.  He followed her into the room, noticing the covers had already been pulled down on the bed.  “Here, I grabbed some socks for you to put on.  Is there anything else that you need?”

“No, not that I can think of…thank you for helping me.”

“Anyone would do the same.”  Laura looked into his deep blue eyes in what he could only assume was an innocent face.  “Anyway, if you need anything, my room is right over there,” she said pointing back towards her bedroom.  “I have two dogs that I’ll try and keep quiet, but you’ll want to keep the door shut so they don’t jump on you.”

Laura walked back out the door, but with her hand on the doorknob, she stopped and turned around.  “I mean it, if you feel sick or need anything in the night, don’t hesitate to yell or come get me.”  She looked deep into his eyes, the look burned into him.  It was as if she was looking at his soul.  He felt short of breath as he sat heavily on the bed. 

Laura started to walk out the door, but stopped when JC called out softly.  “Laura??   Could you help me put the socks on…my hands still aren’t working great.”

“Sure,” Laura came back into the room and grabbed the socks from beside him.  “Why don’t you go ahead and lay down,” she suggested.  He slowly lay down and lifted his feet up to the bed.  She carefully sat down on the bed near his feet. 

Laura gently lifted his right foot and placed a sock on.  “Well, at least your feet feel warmer,” she said nervously as she placed his foot back on the bed and grabbed his left foot, repeating the motion. 

She stood back up and grabbed the covers before pulling them up to his neck.  I can’t believe it, JC thought, she’s tucking me in.  I haven’t had a woman ever tuck me in that didn’t want something more. 

Laura straightened up, clearing her throat.  “Are you warm enough, do you want more blankets?”

“No, I’m fine.” 

“Alright, good night then.”  Laura turned the light out as she walked out of the room.  But before she closed the door, she heard a whisper “Good night, thank you.”

Laura softly closed the door behind her then walked over to the couch and sat down, putting her face into her hands.  Was there a connection there?  Am I just dreaming?  Could this all be in my mind?  Then she slowly smiled as she heard JC cough as she realized it was real. 

Laura stood up and went into the bathroom, picking up his clothes before she took them to the laundry room and stuck them in the washer so he would have clean clothes to put on the next day.  After putting detergent in and turning the washer on, she quietly walked back to her bedroom, hushing the dogs as she opened her bedroom door. 

Closing the door behind her, she walked to the side of the bed and sat down, getting under the covers.  She stared up at the ceiling above her bed as she tried to understand what had happened that day, what had started at a completely ordinary day.  Laura had a feeling that everything in her life had just taken a change, she just wasn’t sure if it would be a good change yet. 

Her hand reached out to shut off the light by her bed as she prepared for a long a sleepless night.