I had so much fun writing a Christmas-themed story last year ("A Very Pepperony Christmas in New York") that I wanted to do it again. And since the fics I have in progress won't lend themselves to that currently, I have no choice but to create a new one. (My hands are tied. Honestly. ;) )

So, here's the first chapter of this year's Christmas-y tale. I hope you enjoy it.

And P.S.- this doesn't mean I've quit on my other fics. I'll keep updating those, as well, as we go along in the coming days, I promise!

In the meantime, Happy Reading...

It happened in a flash. One minute, he could see her tail lights ahead of him, though the heavy, blowing snow was making it more and more difficult with each mile. The next, they totally disappeared, and he heard the screeching of her tires, and the grinding, crunching, crashing sound of metal as her car slammed into the guard rail, and then flipped end over end, over the side of the hill, coming to rest in a shallow inlet of the river in the canyon below. He jerked his car over to the side of the road, and piled frantically out of the driver's side, his heart thundering in his ears as his eyes took in the horror of the scene in the darkness. Her headlights shown eerily into the trees along the bank, a frightening indicator of where the vehicle had come to rest. "PEPPER!" he screamed helplessly, his voice muffled by the biting wind whipping all around him. He quickly hurdled the guard rail, and half-ran, half-rolled down the hillside, desperate to reach her before the interior of the car flooded with the icy water and pulled it, and her, under.

Finally, he made it to the wreckage of her car, the underside turned skyward and steaming, the two rear wheels rotating futilely. He rushed to the driver's side, falling into the bone-chilling water, only inches deep in this spot, to survey her condition. He gasped at what he saw, seeing she was unconscious, and bleeding profusely from her forehead, still strapped in by her seat belt. Thankfully her window had been busted out by the impact, and he could squeeze in between her and the steering wheel to try to free her. He strained, on his hands and knees, the water level quickly rising in the car, to unfasten the seat belt, while cradling her head in the crook of his shoulder at the same time. Finally, he reached far enough to be able hit the button, and in one motion, the belt loosened and Pepper fell forward into his arms, still unconscious. "There. I gotcha', Pep. Don't worry," he muttered to her, moving to ease her out of the vehicle and up on to a sandbar near by. Thankfully, the canyon provided a shelter from the blistering wind up top. But the snow fell heavily around them, quickly finishing the job of soaking the both of them to the bone. He began to shiver, and knew he'd have to work quickly, or they both would become hypothermic, and their chances of survival in this remote wilderness would be dramatically lessened.

He laid her gently on her back and braced himself to the side, over the top of her. He then put his fingers to her neck to check for a pulse, and waited anxiously for any sign she was still with him. After a moment, a slow, weak pulse was detected, and he breathed a small sigh of relief. He then put his head to her chest to watch and listen for her breathing. But there was no movement or sound, so when he realized she wasn't breathing, and a new panic gripped him. He quickly raise back up and watched her with wide eyes for a moment, before moving to tilt her head back. "Come on, Pepper! Breathe, honey!" he begged, as he plugged her nose, covered her mouth with his, and breathed his breath into her lungs. He watched her lungs rise in his peripheral vision as he did this, and then turned his head to the side to watch as the air rapidly left her lungs, desperate to see if she would start breathing on her own. But his efforts were to no avail, as her chest didn't rise again on its own.

"Damn it! Come on, Pepper! Stay with me! Breathe!" he pleaded, repeating the motion of filling her lungs again. He watched her desperately this time, raising his fingers to her neck to check for a pulse once more, as he watched the air leave her lungs. Her still weak heartbeat assured him she was still alive, but she still wasn't breathing on her own.

"One more time, Pep! Come on! Let's go!" he urged, as he tilted her chin back once more and breathed a third breath into her lungs. Her chest fell, predictably. But this time, as Tony turned his head to watch for her to start breathing on her own, he saw her chest rise directly after it had fallen. Granted, it was a shallow breath, but a vast improvement none the less. He smiled in approval, and looked back at her, nodding. He cupped her cold-reddened cheek. "There you go, Pep. That's it," he told her, breathlessly.

He sat back on his haunches for a moment, to survey their surroundings, knowing the clock was ticking for him to be able to find them shelter, and get them warm. The darkness, along with the snow fall, made it hard to see anything. And he knew they couldn't go back up the direction he'd come down, as the snow would make climbing the canyon wall back up to his car impossible for him, let alone having to carry an unconscious Pepper in his arms, as well.

Just then, he spied a dirt road, across the river, that led back into the trees. Only about a hundred yards from where he and Pepper currently were, was a narrower, shallower, part of the river that would allow them to cross to the other side. He decided he had to try to see what was at the end of that road. If there wasn't anything they could take shelter in, then at least they'd be in the trees, and off the river, exposed to the elements like they were now. And we'll just have to improvise the rest until morning, he thought. If we make it that long.

He carefully hoisted Pepper up into his arms, her long heavy wool coat she wore adding to the weight because of it being drenched by the river water and wet snowfall. Underneath it, she wore only a sleeveless, emerald green evening gown, hardly cold-weather wear. His attire wasn't much better. He was dressed in a black Armani tux, and hadn't worn an outer coat, regretfully. "Okay, Pep. Let's find some place warm to hole up, huh?" he muttered to her hopefully, as he began their trek down river to the narrow crossing.

He stepped carefully, and thoughtfully, along the bank toward the crossing, the illumination from the headlights of her car guiding him only part way. Once he reached it, he took a step downward, and quickly felt the icy chill of the river water filled his black dress shoes, stabbing his feet and ankles with a million tiny, jolting pin pricks. "Yeeeeeahhhh, that's cold. Wow. Okay," he said as he carefully stepped, one foot at a time through the water, wading across the river, each step more precarious than the last. He stumbled on the uneven rocks of the riverbed below his feet a number of times, but managed to stay somewhat upright, and to keep Pepper held tight in his arms.

At last, he'd made it across the narrow, and back up on to the bank. He heaved a heavy sigh once he'd reached his destination. "Okay," he said, looking back with relief. "Hard part's done."

But now, he hoped upon hope, that his journey down the dirt road, through the trees, wouldn't be in vain. He prayed there would be some kind of shelter they could take- anything with at least three walls and a roof- just to hide out in until morning. "Okay, Pep. No time like the present, huh?" he murmured to her, as he shifted her in his arms, and began to make his way again.

XxXxXxXxXx

Some time later, after lumbering through the trees down the road, the visibility reduced to almost nothing, and his shivering growing steadily more uncontrollable, Tony laid eyes on what he'd hoped he would find- a small, log cabin tucked back, deep within the trees. With great relief, and renewed vigor, he marched toward the door, Pepper still unconscious in his arms.

He stepped onto the front porch. The windows were dark, and the cabin appeared to have been vacated for quite some time, he guessed only because the winter season made it hard to access. He carefully laid Pepper down on a porch swing, suspended from the canopy over the porch, and searched for a way in. He searched for a spare key under the welcome mat laid in front of the screen door, and in the light fixture of the porch light above him, but found nothing. "Damn it," he muttered, hating to break a window. But really, he was left with no choice. So he fetched a small log from the wood pile off the side of the porch railing, opened the screen door, which whined with a loud creak, and forcefully put the log through the bottom pane of glass in the window of the front door. It shattered, and he eyed Pepper for any sign the noise had awakened her. His worry for her was ever increasing in that she was still breathing on her own, but hadn't come to in all of the time since they'd left the river.

He turned his attention back to the door, and carefully reached his hand through the broken glass, twisting the lock on the doorknob to open it. He then pulled his arm free and twisted the door knob. It popped open, and Tony propped the screen door open with the log he'd used to break the window. Then he gingerly picked Pepper up off the porch swing, and brought her inside the cabin.

The living room, of course, was completely dark, but Tony managed to maneuver through it well enough to make it to the long, overstuffed sofa, which happened to be placed in front of a large, river-rock fireplace. Pepper didn't stir when he did this, and he watched her for a moment, smoothing his thumb over her cheek in concern, before he went to close the screen and the front doors.

He then quickly strode back over to the fireplace, and began to hurriedly crumple some newspaper he found sitting on the hearth, along with piling a bit of kindling he found in a bucket on top of it. "Matches, matches, matches," he murmured, searching the immediate area. But he came up short.

He frowned, and ran to the kitchen, yanking open drawers in search of anything that he could use to ignite the flame. He came across a small cigarette lighter. He brought it to his ear, and shook it. Very little fluid was left in it, much to his disappointment. But, it was better than nothing, so he ran back over to the fireplace, and flicked the lighter near a crumpled wad of newspaper stuffed inside. The lighter sparked, but didn't ignite. "Come on, come on," he begged, shaking the lighter in his hand and flicking the flint one more time. A small flame emerged, but quickly blew out. Tony grunted in frustration, and then flicked it hard one more time. A sizable flame appeared this time, and he quickly held it once more to some of the paper. A small, smoking, blue flame appeared, and then gradually grew, engulfing the small sticks and twigs he'd used for fire starter. It spread to the rest of the heap, and soon he and Pepper were awash in a warm orange glow. He sighed in relief at the sight, and laid three logs on top of the flames, grateful they'd found safety at last.

He watched the flames for a moment, as they began to dance, the wood popping and cracking from the ever-growing heat. He put his hands to the warmth, rubbing them and holding them up to the fire. He was just starting to get the feeling back in his fingers when he heard Pepper softly moan behind him. He quickly went to her side. "Pepper?" he said softly, hopefully. She frowned, and slowly rolled her head from side to side. She was shivering and groaning, her eyes still closed.

"I'm here,Pep," he murmured to her, reassuring her. "You're okay. We're safe, now."

Slowly, Pepper opened her eyes to a squint and looked at him. She was shivering, but conscious at least now, and Tony smiled warmly at her. Pepper kept frowning, but rotated her eyes around the room, finally bringing her gaze back to him. "Wh-what happened? Wh-where are we?" she asked softly.

Tony swallowed hard. "There was an accident," he explained. "You lost control of your car, and rolled it into the river. I saw the whole thing, and managed to pull you out. Then I found this place, and..." he stopped, fearing he'd overwhelm her with the details. "You know what? Just rest, Pep. You've got a pretty good knot on your head, and we both need to warm up, so..."

"Th-that would ex-p-plain why my h-head h-hurts, and my t-teeth are ch-chattering out of my s-skull," she replied shakily. But she smiled, despite everything, and Tony smiled back, relieved she was responsive, and they were both relatively safe again.

"Yeah, we're both soaked," he said. "You should get outta those clothes. We both should, uh... I mean, we..." he stammered, suddenly realizing what that must have sounded like.

Pepper smiled. "Tony S-Stark, d-don't t-tell me this w-was all a g-giant ploy to g-get me n-naked," she teased.

Tony chuckled. "For once, it's not," he replied back teasingly, with a knowing smirk. "Glad to see you haven't lost your wit in all of this, Potts."

Pepper moved to sit up, but quickly felt light-headed, and Tony grabbed her upper arm to steady her, and to help her lie back down. "Whoa, whoa. Too much too fast, kiddo," he said. "Take it slow."

Pepper smiled and nodded, closing her eyes. "I th-think you're right," she agreed. "But this coat is as g-good as a wet r-rag, right n-now. Can you help me get it o-off, at least?" she asked him.

Tony nodded, and Pepper gingerly moved to slip her arms out from the sleeves, Tony working to help her. She moved to get it out from underneath her body, and he took it from her once it was free, hanging it over the back of a nearby arm chair to dry. Pepper was still shivering violently, and Tony looked around for a blanket she could wrap herself in. A large trunk sat next to the sofa as an end table, and Tony had a hunch he'd find one there. He moved a lamp sitting on top of it to the floor, and opened the trunk to find a large patchwork quilt folded inside. "Bingo," he said, as he pulled it out, and unfolded it, working to drape it over his shivering assistant. She thanked him, and pulled it up over her bare shoulders, snuggling further into the overstuffed couch cushions. Tony sat back down on his knees in front of her, and vigorously rubbed her arms, working to try to warm her. They gazed at each other, Pepper in appreciation of his care and concern for her well-being, and he in appreciation that she was even still alive.

Her shivering began to subside, and she smiled softly at her boss. He smiled back. "Better?" he asked hopefully.

She nodded. "Much," she replied.

Tony smiled and nodded, and turned to sit on the floor in front of her to continue warming himself. He watched the flames, his own chill quickly dissipating, and his body now growing weary from the stress and exertion. He worked his jaw in thought of what had taken place, still trying to process how easily Pepper could have slipped away from him in that moment, and how alone he would have felt out there, in the cold and the darkness.

Pepper remained quiet, and several minutes passed before she chose to speak again. "Tony?" she murmured.

"Hmmm? What, Pep?" he said, coming out of his reverie to look at her.

She smiled. "Thank you," she said simply.

He looked at her curiously. "For what?" he asked, with a smirk. "For not leaving you upside down in a flooding car in the river in the middle of a blizzard?" he joked. "Yeah, I'd pretty much be the world's biggest asshole if I didn't rescue you, Pep."

They both chuckled. "Well, thank you for not being the world's biggest asshole, then," she replied.

Tony chuckled again, and made a gracious, bow-like motion. "You're most welcome," he joked back. "It's almost the end of the year, and I have a quota of good Samaritan moments I have to fill, so there you go. You were just lucky enough to be the recipient of one. Feel honored yet, Potts?" he teased.

Pepper chuckled. "Very," she teased. "I know how rare these moments are for you."

"Yeah, well, don't go thinking you'll be that lucky the next time you decide to wreck your car, alright?" he warned playfully.

"About that," Pepper said. "What happened, exactly?"

Tony turned to look at her, frowning. "You...don't remember?" he asked, curiously.

Pepper shook her head. "I don't," she answered.

Tony shrugged. "All I know is, I saw your taillights ahead of me one minute, and they disappeared the next. I saw your car flip and roll over the guard railing. It skidded down the hill and into the river on its roof. That's when I climbed down the hill and pulled you out of the car. You were unconscious, and not breathing, but you still had a pulse. So I gave you mouth-to-mouth, and..."

Pepper gasped, her eyes wide. "You did?!" she exclaimed, in a breathless whisper.

Tony smiled at her sheepishly and shrugged again. "Yeeeahhhh, why? What are you, afraid of getting cooties or something?" he joked awkwardly.

Pepper just looked at him in amazement. "I really do owe you my life, then," she murmured.

Tony just smiled awkwardly, and gave her an impish look. "Um...I was, uh...I was gonna try to find us some clothes to change into, wasn't I? We won't be able to get warm in this wet stuff," he stated, quickly getting to his feet, and walking out of the room in the direction of some bedrooms.

Pepper blushed and smiled to herself at how valiant Tony's efforts had been. But then a stabbing pain in her forehead gripped her, and she winced, inhaling sharply through her teeth, forgetting all admiring thoughts of her boss.

"And something for pain? If you can find it?" she called out.

"Got it!" she heard Tony answer from the other room.

She closed her eyes, and took some deep breaths. She felt light-headed, and her stomach was a bit queasy. Pepper figured she'd sustained a bad concussion, and knew it wouldn't be of much use to try to get off the couch to help him, given she had trouble even keeping her balance sitting up. So she contented herself with lying on the couch, under the quilt, feeling the warmth of the fireplace melt the chill in her bones away. She could feel fatigue starting to set in, and she closed her eyes to rest for only a moment, her breathing settling into a relaxed rhythm.

Tony came back moments later, to find her unconscious again on the couch and he instantly panicked. "Pepper?!" he gasped, coming to his knees in front of her, his eyes filled with worry. He jostled her gently, and she moaned. He sighed heavily with relief at the sound. "Don't freak me out like that, Potts," he warned breathlessly. "I thought you'd...you'd..."

"I just dozed off, Tony," she reassured. She smiled, and chuckled sympathetically. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

He took one of her hands in his, and patted it sweetly, nodding. "It's okay, Pep. I'm just...a little jumpy, guess," he explained, turning back around to sit in front of her. He reached inside his tux jacket pocket to produce a bottle of Ibuprofen. "Here," he said, handing it to her. "It's all I could find."

"This'll do," she assured him. She opened the bottle, and popped two of the pills, swallowing them down. She replaced the cap and handed it back to him. "I don't blame you," she said. "After what you said happened, I can only imagine your nerves are a little shot."

Tony smiled and nodded. "You could say that, yeah," he agreed. He took a deep breath, and scrubbed a hand over his face. He shook his head. "I don't suppose there's much we'll be able to do until morning, right? In the way of getting back to civilization?"

Pepper shook her head. "No, I suppose not," she said. "I'm just happy we're stuck here, though, and not out there," she said. "Thank goodness for small miracles."

"Yeah," Tony agreed, nodding. He nodded toward the back of the couch, where he'd laid what he'd found in the closets and drawers of the bedrooms. "I found us some new duds that might work for the time being, too, if you're still interested."

"Sounds great, if only the room would stop spinning," Pepper said. "I'm not even able to sit up under my own volition, right now."

Tony chuckled, and dismissed her with a waive of his hand. "No rush, Pep. You've stopped shivering. That must be a good sign. So take your time," he urged. "In the meantime," he said, his voice strained as he hoisted himself back up off the floor. "I'm gonna go change. Besides the fact that I'm still freezing my ass off, I suddenly find I'm a trifle over dressed for this occasion," he joked.

Pepper giggled. He winked and smiled at her, before walking back toward the bedrooms. And she kept smiling long after he'd left her presence, as well.