"Rise and shine sleepy head!" Stephanie opened one eye, looked at Chris jumping on her bed, swore at him, closed her eye, rolled over and buried her head under the pillow. "Chris, piss off! You kept me up till late forcing me to watch that crappy D-grade horror flick and now you want me to get out of bed? Piss off!"

"Aw, poor baby." Chris jumped off the bed and onto the floor, pausing at the door. "Hey Steph?"

"WHAT?"

"It's snowing." Chris grinned and slipped out, leaving Stephanie staring after him. Slowly her face broke into a smile and she crawled out of bed, heading straight for the shower. As she washed her hair, she couldn't help thinking about how things had changed so quickly over the past couple of weeks.

Stephanie and Chris had quickly settled into a routine. Sabine had continued to deposit money for Stephanie into the bank account weekly, actually increasing the amount to $75, which Stephanie assumed was out of guilt for forgetting one week. It made things easier on them financially.

The sleeping arrangements had been a source of many arguments. Stephanie insisted that she would sleep on the couch, but use the bedroom to change and dress. Chris thought it would be easier for Stephanie to sleep in there as well. The problem was eventually solved when Stephanie found a second hand bed at a rummage sale. Chris set it up in a corner of the lounge room and slept there, while Stephanie took over the bedroom.

To Chris's surprise, Stephanie had great budgeting skills. She managed the money so well, that instead of scraping through the week they now had a little bit left over at the end of the week. This money was set aside luxuries - currently they were deciding whether to get a VCR or be able to make outgoing calls on the phone. The VCR was currently winning.

Steph was amazed at how well she and Chris got along. There had been an instant connection that first night. Sometimes she felt like she'd known Chris for years, other times they could read each others moods perfectly. Stephanie knew when Chris had had a bad day training and would attempt to reassure him and take his mind off it. In return, Chris knew when the lack of contact with her previous life was getting her down and would do his best to cheer her up.

A knock on the door jolted Stephanie back to reality. "Are you decent?"

"Chris, I have nothing to wear!"

"Oh god, you bloody women!" Chris rolled his eyes and sighed impatiently. "Steph, just pick something warm! We're going to the play in the snow, we're not going on a charity ski trip in the Alps!"

"That's the problem! I don't have warm clothes! I've got some jeans, but I only own t-shirts and other stuff that's too summery to go playing in the snow in!" Stephanie yelled back, smirking at how much like a married couple they sounded. Chris swore under his breath. "Then wear jeans and a tee and one of my jumpers or something. I thought chicks your age assumed that anyone else's wardrobe was open to them anyway."

"Oh bite me!" Stephanie had already been through all Chris's clothes one night when she'd been woken in the middle of the night by a storm. There was one jumper that she thought looked particularly soft and warm and inviting and she pulled it on without hesitation. She secured her hair back in a braid and threw open the door. "Let's go!"

"That jumper looks a lot better on you than it does on me." Chris observed with a grin, eyeing Stephanie over. ~Oh no, it doesn't.~ She thought, blushing madly. With a small smile, Chris decided not to embarrass Stephanie or himself any further. "Ready?"

They locked up the flat - as Chris joked, he'd finally gained some possessions that were worth something. But it was Stephanie he was looking at as he said it and the look on his face made her feel warm all over. She felt the same again, after Chris took her hand in his to help her down the last few stairs leading outside and didn't let go of it.

"Hey Lionheart, you sexy piece of meat! What brings you two out on a shitty day like today?" Sable, one of Paulie's girls called out. Sable had an amazing figure, gorgeous long blonde hair and a classically beautiful face. According to Chris, she looked like a Barbie doll, nice to look at and probably fun to play with, but boring after a short length of time and with no depth at all. As far as Stephanie was concerned, Sable was a first class bitch, and if Sable was Barbie, then Stephanie was Skipper - but without the dolls figure. Chris squeezed Stephanie's hand gently, intending to reassure her that Sable was nothing to him.

Across the street, Modina and her spotter Neesya, waved at them and wandered over. They both adored Stephanie and could easily see close how she and Chris were. "Heya Princess, Lionheart. What's doin?"

"Not a lot." Stephanie smiled at her. Chris grinned at her. "I'm taking the lil Princess for a snow day."

"You've never seen snow before?" Sable asked in disbelief. She looked Stephanie over, her lip curling as she recognised Chris's jumper. Stephanie tensed a little, dreading a confrontation. Neesya put her hand on Sable's shoulder. "That black Jag is sniffin around again. Looks like you've won yourself a fan."

Sable blew a kiss at Chris before strutting over to the Jaguar. After talking to the driver for a few seconds, she slid into the car, waving goodbye as it roared off. Neesya shook her head. "God, I hate her."

"Me too." replied Modina and Stephanie in unison. The four of them laughed as Modina turned to Stephanie, noticing with a smile that Chris held Stephanie's hand tightly in his. Chris smiled at Stephanie. "I'm taking the Princess for a as yet unpatented Lionheart day in the snow. We're talking snow forts, ice skating lessons, snow angels, snowballs fights, snow families, the works."

"You lucky thing." Neesya said wistfully. "I wish I had a guy like the Lionheart to take me on a snow day. Looks like you managed to tame him. I coulda taken a fortune in bets that that would never happen."

Chris shot Neesya a 'shut the hell up' look that made her take a step back. Modina elbowed her and smirked as she saw the flush that was creeping up Stephanie's neck. Suddenly Chris saw the bus he wanted and said "That's our bus we'd better go."

They took off at a run, still holding hands. Neesa watched with a smile. "Goddamnit those two had better get their act together and hook up."

"Well they're obviously soulmates, so they will." Modina replied, smiling and waving as the bus pulled. Neesya laughed. "They'd better, or I'll kick his ass."

++++++++

"What do you mean you've never made a snow angel before?"

"I've never made a snow angel! What part of that sentence don't you understand? It's not my fault, as a kid, I was only allowed in the snow for short length of time, then once I hit a certain age, it was 'improper' for young ladies to 'frolic like lambs' in the snow." Stephanie said that last part in a posh voice, feeling a slight pang. It still hurt a little every time she thought of home, but it was hurting less and less. Chris looked shocked. "I can't believe you've never made a snow angel before!"

"You said that about the snow fort, the snow family and the ice skating." Stephanie pointed out with an extremely unladylike snort. Chris laughed. "It's not my fault you've had a deprived upbringing."

"Deprived? I doubt it." Stephanie thought of all things that were waiting for her return. Chris sighed. "Not material things Princess. Were you ever given the chance to play and mess around like a normal kid? Or were the restrictions and rules about what was proper drilled into you at an early age?"

"I.." Stephanie's voice caught, as she struggled to hold back tears. Chris was right, as much as she hated to admit it. She'd had more fun today then she could ever remember having before. With a mental kick to the ass, he impulsively wrapped his arms around Stephanie's waist and hugged her. "I'm sorry Steph, I didn't mean to upset you."

"I know. It's just, with Christmas coming up soon, I know I'm expected to go back, but I'd much rather stay at home in the flat, but I know you're going back to Canada for the holidays and -" she broke off and looked up at him suspiciously. "That coffee was an expresso wasn't it?"

Chris laughed in delight and gave Stephanie an Eskimo kiss, rubbing his nose against hers. "I'm glad you brought that up Steph."

"The coffee or Christmas?"

"Christmas."

"And why is that?" Stephanie sounded a little confused. Chris smiled. "I got a letter from my mother a week ago, asking me to come home for Christmas. I wrote back and explained that I was now flatting with a wonderful young lady, who I doubted would be going home for Christmas and I couldn't leave her alone in the little dump we call home now could I?"

"Your coffee was an expresso too right?" Stephanie looked at Chris with a raised eyebrow. Grinning guiltily he placed a finger on her eyebrow and gently pressed down, lowering it. "Well we were out of coffee at home. So Mom called and started asking about the latest lost cause who's sucked me in and ranting about how I'm just gonna get ripped off again and she wished that I would swallow my foolish pride and accept some money from her and Dad and move into a better area, it's not like they can't afford it and what am I trying to prove by-"

"Get to the point Chris." Stephanie warned lightly. Chris frowned, trying to remember his point. "Anyway I convinced Mom that you were a great person and so on and the long and the skinny of it is that you've been invited to spend the Christmas holidays with the Jericho family."