A/N: This is something that got a little out of hand. It was a tumblr prompt for "It looks like we're snowed it." I started writing and two chapters later it was way too long to answer the prompt normally haha. I posted the first two chapters on tumblr and ao3... and now it has taken off into more. If you want to give a bit of a trope-y predictable holiday fic a try, here you go. :) Disclaimer: If you do not like AU stories or Shandy or canon divergence or Christmas prompts... this may not be your cup of tea. Also, not my characters and the prompt idea all came from a lovely anon...

"Good evening folks," came a composed voice over the intercom system. "This is Bill from the flight deck; bit of some bad news for your holiday this evening. It looks like the conditions on the ground at Newark have worsened while in flight. They are diverting us to Dulles." The pilot paused and a number of sighs and grunts of frustration were heard throughout the cabin. "I am very sorry for the delay to your travel plans. Once we get on the ground there will be gate agents to assist in insuring you all make it to your destinations as soon as possible. Again, on behalf of the airline I apologize for this delay. If anyone is still up and moving around the cabin I am going to ask that you please take your seats, we should be on the ground shortly."

When the static clicked off Sharon sat back in her seat with an aggravated sigh. She only had a small window for Christmas this year. With her daughter's new work schedule, Emily was not able to get away for more than a couple days. Plus, Ricky was spending the year studying abroad, so it had not made any sense for him to spend more time in the air than he would be on the ground; even if it was Christmas. Not one to miss a chance to see her children, or to miss Christmas, Sharon had decided to fly out to meet her daughter. It had been years since she Christmas in the city and was looking forward to the break. A mid day nonstop flight from LAX to Newark had seemed like her best bet to get out there, but the change in the forecast was distressing to say the least. She checked the time on her phone to see that it was around 8:00pm local time. Even though it was already dark she imagined that renting a car to take her the rest of the way would not delay her too long, no matter the road conditions.

When the plane landed safely in Virginia she waited for the rows ahead of her to stand before preparing to deplane. As she waited she saw a familiar Lieutenant stand a few rows ahead and retrieve his luggage from the overhead bin. Sharon ducked quickly to hide her face as he shouldered his bag and then reached up to help retrieve the bag for the passenger beside him. Sharon slowly peeked up from behind the seat to make sure he had not spotted her. Andy was standing in the aisle he was facing forward, patiently waiting his turn. She let out a sigh of relief that she had not been seen; a small miracle during an already rocky trip.

Once the cabin doors were unlatched he shuffled down the aisle along with the other passengers. Sharon stood to begin with her own departure. As she entered the terminal she waded through the crowds of tense passengers waiting to rearrange their flights. She bypassed the crowd and instead followed the signs for the tram to the car rentals. With her bag in tow she situated herself on the train.

When the tram doors slid open she stepped out to stay clear of the closing doors, but immediately froze on the platform. Standing at the nearest rental desk stood Andy Flynn negotiating a car deal. Still hoping to avoid any potential volatile conversations, she contemplated stepping back onto the train. However, before she could make a move one way or the other a stranger with his face in his phone tripped over her rolling suitcase.

"Oh," she exclaimed drawing the attention of the room as she lost her balance. She tried to brace herself against the handle of her case, but the wheels betrayed her. They went skidding out from under her pulling her body and the other person along with them.

The man who had run into her grunted his apologies as they both tangled in the luggage and lost their footings.

Sharon braced herself for an ungraceful fall, but before she hit the ground she felt a firm hand wrap around her upper arm to steady her fall. "Careful, Captain," came an all too familiar drawl. "I'm sure even witch's bones will brake if they fall hard enough." Sharon sighed irritatedly at the dig as she tried to pull out of his grasp. Andy rolled his eyes at her response and turned his attention to the man. "Hey buddy," he scolded, "watch where you're going. It's Christmas, we all have places we need to be. No reason to race through here. You're going to hurt someone."

The other man grunted another apology as he dusted himself off and continued on his way. Andy let out an annoyed huff as he watched the man retreat, still at an alarmingly fast pace.

"You okay?" he muttered to Sharon running his over her as she straightened her jacket. He picked up the handle of her suitcase and handed it over to her.

Sharon nodded, "Yes, I'm fine." She took the case from him and exhaled, "Thanks."

"You're welcome, Captain." He gestured to the airport around them, "I take it you're stuck here too? Where you were headed?"

"An amazing deduction, Lieutenant," she sighed sounding a little too annoyed. "Yes, it would appear that I am stuck here as well."

Andy shook his head at her tone, "Well, Captain. I'm sorry for trying to be nice." He stepped one foot back as he prepared to turn away, "I won't bother you anymore. Next time I may just let you fall."

Sharon rolled her eyes at her own behavior, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I mean. I am just frustrated. I did not expect to be here and then of course getting bulldozed…" she paused briefly to shake off her bitter mood. "I'm sorry," she repeated more genuinely. "Thank you for your help. Yes, I am stuck here too. I was flying to New York to spend the holiday with my daughter, or I was until the snow closed the surrounding airports and stranded me here."

Andy nodded, "Same. I was flying out to join my sister for Christmas." He pointed to the car rental desk, "I figured I would just rent a car to take me the last few hours. It has been years since I drove in the snow, but I think I can manage."

Sharon sighed, "I had the same idea. It's only a few hours away. I assumed the road would be mostly deserted at this rate." She shrugged again, "and it beats waiting around here hoping for an early flight in the morning. At least I could feel like I was making some progress."

"Agreed," Andy grinned gesturing toward the desk. "This may be a strange idea, seeing as how we generally can't stand the sight of one another, but what do you say to sharing a car? May make the drive go by faster, and at least there is someone there to check the maps and radar."

Sharon pursed her lips at the idea. Spending hours trapped in a car with Flynn was definitely not her idea of a Merry Christmas. However, she was nothing is she was not practical. After all the ride would go faster with two drivers and if they were going the same direction it would save them each some costs and free up cars for other forsaken passengers. "Fine," she nodded reluctantly. "That makes sense to me."

"You don't have to say yes," he mocked at her unenthusiastic response. "I was just trying to be nice here. It is Christmas and everything."

"You're right," Sharon breathed dejectedly. "I just had not expected this. I am a tad bit annoyed at the situation."

Andy stepped toward the desk, "Join the club." He turned to the counter to complete his earlier task of securing a vehicle. The agent had him sign a few forms before hading him a set of keys and pointing outside to the covered garage. Andy took the keys in one hand and shouldered his bag on his other arm. He looked back to Sharon and with a strained smile stated, "All right Captain. We are set to go." She nodded and followed him to the small SUV he had secured for the evening.

An hour later they were on the mostly empty interstate slowly heading north. The roads were wet, but not yet impassable. They traveled along in companionable silence each not wanting to share too much with the other. As the next exit came into view Andy flipped on the blinker. "I'm sorry Captain, but I need a coffee. I had a long week and if we are going to finish this trip tonight I need to fuel up."

"Sounds good," Sharon agreed sitting up straighter in her seat to look for a gas station. "I'm sorry. I could drive if you want to rest? I worked this week as well, but just the normal hours. I am not overly tired."

Andy shook his head, "I'm fine. I mean you can drive if you want of course, but I am the one on the insurance agreement. Would hate for us to get caught breaking the rules."

Sharon chuckled lightly at his comment, "Oh yes, you do have a very strict no-nonsense rule following policy. That is one of the things you are most known for and can always be counted on to uphold."

Andy laughed at her unexpected response, "Why Captain Raydor, did you just make a joke?"

She rolled her eyes, "Come on Flynn, I'm not that awful. I do have a sense of humor, and I mean how could I not right now. Look at us; we are thousands of miles from home, stuck together in a rental car, and driving into unknown weather conditions to get to our families in time for Christmas. Plus, we don't even like each other." She rolled her head to the face him, "The universe is playing a very strange joke of its own on us right now."

"Indeed," he chuckled. "Let's just hope this is short lived and we won't be too badly damaged by the experience." She raised an eyebrow in his direction but said nothing more as he pulled the off the freeway and into the nearest gas station. "You want anything?" He asked as he exited the car with a grin, "my treat."

Sharon placed her hand over her heart feigning shock, "You're offering to get me something? And they say there's no such thing as Christmas miracles."

Andy chuckled again, "It's a one time offer. Don't get used to it."

"I won't," she smiled in return, "but that's fine. I'll take a coffee. I need to make sure I am on my game. I don't want you to get us lost out here."

"Funny," he chuckled again, before closing the door and walking inside.

In the car Sharon dropped her head onto the back of her seat and sighed. By this time in the evening she had expected to be landing in Jersey and catching a cab to Emily's studio apartment on the west side of the city. Her daughter would be arriving home around the same time, and they had planned to spend the evening catching up on everything going on in Emily's world. Instead, she was stuck in a thankfully not too stressful car with someone who was definitely not on her list of friendly colleagues. Although to be fair that was not exactly a long list.

A knock on her window brought her out of her thoughts. She spun her head toward the glass. On the other side Andy stood holding a coffee cup in each hand. She reached out to roll down the window and take her cup from him, "Thank you, Lieutenant." Before pressing the button to close it again. Andy nodded and walked around to his side of the car. He fell into his seat, slightly more irritated than he had been before. "What's wrong?" she probed growing concerned at his souring mood.

He rolled his head in her direction. "The cashier warned that the road conditions are quickly deteriorating up north. He suggested we stay here for the night."

Sharon pressed her lips together in consideration, "What do you think?"

"I think," he sighed, "that he was probably just being overly cautious. I want to keep going."

Sharon nodded, "I want to keep going too, but only if it is safe. It does not do us any good to wind up in a ditch, or stranded on the side of the road in the cold."

"I agree," Andy nodded, "but I am not stupid. I know my limits. I think we should keep going until we can't."

Not wanting to argue Sharon nodded again, "Okay, but as soon as conditions become too much we stop. Deal?"

"Deal," he groaned and started the engine. "Let's go."

Another fifty miles or so along in their journey and the conditions had indeed begun to decline. The windshield wipers were beating back and forth as the headlights only illuminated a small patch of dark road at a time.

"It looks like we are trapped in a snow globe," Sharon sighed rubbing her hands together. She squinted out the windows to see if she could make out any lights ahead. The drive was not secluded by any means, but there were better placed to stop than others. Up ahead she saw the lights to a Fairfield Inn illuminated against the falling snow. She pointed out the window, "It may not be a bad time to stop, Lieutenant."

"I know, Captain," he snapped letting his frustration at the situation out too freely.

Sharon whipped her head around, "Careful Flynn, I was just trying to be helpful. You don't have to bite my head off. It isn't my fault we are here."

"But it's mine?" he moaned irrationally. "We could have stopped back there or even not rented a car together at all. No we are about to be stuck miles from both airports."

Sharon rolled her eyes at the change in his temperament, "Yes, because that is exactly what I was implying," she turned in her seat to face him. "Come on Flynn, do you really think I was blaming you for this? It is the weather and our own stubbornness to push through, nothing more."

"Stubbornness?" Andy grumbled flipping on the blinker once more to direct the car off of the road. "Fine," he groaned, "sorry for snapping." He gripped the steering wheel tensely as he drove them toward the hotel. "Looks like we're snowed in. What a Christmas this is turning out to be." He stopped the car under the covered awning; "I'll let you out here and park the car. If you get checked in before me I'll see you down here in the morning. We will get back on the road as soon as the sun is up."

Sharon nodded and opened her door, "Okay. I'll see you in the morning then." She opened the back door to retrieve her suitcase before striding into the hotel.

For the late hour there were quite a number of people loitering in the lobby. Many were stranded travelers, like her, bunkering down for the night. She got in line to wait for the next available assistant. While she waited, the glass doors behind her slid open to welcome yet another couple. She craned her neck to see if Andy was there yet, but before she could think too much more about it the next available hotel desk agent called, "How can I help you?"

Sharon secured herself a room and set off toward the elevators. When she crossed the doorway, Andy finally entered the lobby. She waved and repeated; "See you in the morning."

"Night, Captain," he sighed queuing at the back of the line.