Marsh hated the cold. She hate, hate, hated the cold.

Oh, before season two she could have lived with it. She remembered the fun snowy season on the first season of II, where she and Paintbrush and... someone else hung out around a fire, singing Christmas carols and eating holiday cookies. But MePhone hadn't even offered blankets to deal with the cold. Sleeping beside Lightbulb, a radiator, didn't really do much to help when the snow was still cold and wet.

And, of course, marshmallows didn't have great nutritional value either.

"Man, it's freezing out here!" MePhone gave a quick shiver.

'What a wimpy host. He's wearing a scarf and a hat and runs on electricity.' Marsh glared at him, only a lit-up Lightbulb's heat at her side, as he spoke with MePad. "It's like ten below if you count in Fahrenheit, and closer to negative twenty-five Celsius. Considering it's getting colder tonight, this isn't good." He chuckled. "It's pretty sweet that we have our own suite, huh?"

"While I appreciate your pun, sir, the coldest night of the year is coming up. There could be disastrous impacts on contestant health."

"Pfft. Even if they die I can just regenerate them."

'I hope you fall in a puddle, jerk.'

"It would be more humanitarian if we offered them a place at Hotel OJ for the night," MePad continued. "Nobody will want footage of the contestants all freezing to death, and the winds from the blizzard may blow them out of the range of recovery. No contestants means no paycheck, sir."

MePhone startled. "That's a good point... I'll notify OJ. You find the contestants."

And such is the story of the impromptu trip to Hotel OJ. The heat in the hotel was absolutely heavenly. Combined with the smell of dinner, Marsh could cry.

'I really ought to give MePad more credit. Why can't he host the show, again?'

"Welcome to Hotel OJ, everyone!" "It's getting late, but feel free to gorge yourself on the delicious array of foods we offer. Also feel free to experience our amenities, free of charge!" OJ was very animated when he spoke. That was the only change Marsh saw, though; he seemed the same as ever.

"Wh-what about-" Marsh sneezed into her elbow, "Sleeping arrangements?"

"Not taking me up on my offer? That's fine, too. There are two beds to a room, and five rooms, which means one of y'all is with an old contestant."

Lightbulb tackle-hugged Test Tube. "My girl Test Tube!"

"You know who I'm with," Baseball added, grinning at Nickel, as Suitcase and Microphone exchanged a glance.

Fan told Balloon, "Well, if either of us rooms with Paintbrush, there'll be death, so..."

"That settles it. Paintbrush is with Knife. And you're sick, Marshmallow, so I think that it should be you rooming with an old contestant."

"What?!" squawked Paintbrush. "But it stands to reason that Knife should be. There are a lot more boys than girls here."

OJ shrugged. "Marsh is probably contagious. You have to go out into the snow; we here don't. Speaking of... Apple!"

Apple strolled over, apparently fresh from a game of checkers. She looked confused, then surprised at the sight of Marsh. "Yeah OJ?"

Something like a stone dropped in Marsh's stomach at the sight of her.

"Marshmallow here needs a place to recover from her cold. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. You do the math." Apple looked at Marsh with surprise. Marsh glared; Apple shrunk away. "Share your room with her for the night. You can figure this out among yourselves; I think you have issues to work out anyway." OJ left, beelining for the dinner table.

Instantly Paintbrush got in Apple's face. "You better not bother her."

"W-wha? Yeah!" A nervous laugh.

"No, I'm serious. You've caused her enough heartache for a lifetime."

Apple blinked. "Yeah? O-okay."

Paintbrush looked to Marsh, then slowly glared at Apple again. "...Fine. But if you cause my friend any more emotional trauma, or bug her at all, so help me, I will-"

Marsh sneezed. "Paintbrush!"

Paintbrush patted Marsh's shoulder and left. Marsh crossed her arms and sighed. "...S-sorry about that. I'm over it."

"Over what?"

Marsh opened her mouth to say it, but it hurt her to think of it. Upset that her "over it" theory was jossed, she grumbled.

"I think I know what you need. Let's go up to my place."

The walk up was tense. Marsh sneezed every-so-often, and glared at Apple every time. Apple for her part didn't seem to know what to make of it.

Apple's room was kind of messy, but it was at least easy to tell whose bed was whose. Marsh sighed a little with relief at how warm it was once she got in.

"Hang tight and I can get you some cold medicine. Be right back!" Apple shut the door behind her.

Marsh made herself comfy to the best of her ability, but deep discomfort persisted. 'Dear Marsh, she's actually here. The question is, how should I feel about it? Angry, or over it? Should I try to make a truce AGAIN?'

Soon Apple was back. She handed her a small cup of medicine. "It doesn't taste very good, but-" Marsh snatched it and drank it as quick as she could, then thrust it back into Apple's hand. "Hopefully that'll help you feel better, Marsh; I missed you." Marsh shot her a weird look. "...Night night." There might've been a trace of sadness in her voice.

Marsh drifted off within moments.

XXX

It wasn't the howling of winds rattling the window which woke Marsh up, but it was the first thing she noticed when she did.

The second thing she noticed was that the whole room was turned upside down. The bed on which Apple should've been sleeping was stripped of everything - including the mattress itself, which Marsh spotted against a wall, covering the window. Piled on top of her were no fewer than eight blankets: two layers of sheets, one layer of fitted sheets, two gigantic comforters, a raggedy little green blanket, a blanket with apples stitched into it, and a quilt on top of it all. Five pillows and a couch cushion were tossed onto her bed.

The third thing she noticed was that the cold medicine had seemed to work; her cold wasn't nearly as bad as it had been.

The fourth thing she noticed was a creepy stuffed rabbit staring at her. She stared at it for a second before turning it onto its stomach.

'This is a harebrained scheme if there ever was one,' thought Marsh bemusedly. 'Trying to strangle me with blankets... Really wasn't your best idea. ...Wait, where is she?'

She fought the heavy blankets off of her and took the apple-stitched one around herself like a cloak. She strode to the other side of the room and peered past the mattress.

Snow billowed past the window, dense like a sheet. Marsh's whole body shivered at the thought of being out there. 'I really should give MePad more credit; getting us rooms in the hotel was really decent of him. If only we did this every time it snowed... Minus being confused about Apple that is.''

'Where is she, anyway?' Marsh sneezed then glanced around. There was still no sign of her. 'Either she's sneaking around or she took Paintbrush's advice very seriously. ...I'm not sure which I prefer.' She sighed and hugged the blanket more closely. 'Well, fine. I don't want to see her anyway! E-even though... it probably took a lot of effort to get all those blankets in one place.'

Marsh shook herself to banish the thought. 'What time is it, anyway?'

There was no clock in the hotel room. Marsh walked over to the door and slowly, carefully, silently pushed it open. She was surprised when the door bumped into something. Marsh peered into the crack between the door and its jamb.

Apple was sleeping there, hugging a pillow like it was a stuffed animal. She had no blanket.

Marsh stared for a second before spotting a clock above the door across from hers. It read half past eleven.

'Apple... are you serious? You slept on the floor... without a blanket... because I was in here? But...' Marsh blinked, incredulous. 'You're not in the game anymore! Why would you do something so selfless? You used me...'

"Mmm..." Apple mumbled in her sleep. 'Some response,' thought Marsh sarcastically.

'Maybe she was scared of Paintbrush's wrath... But she also had to have been the one to give me all those blankets, and she didn't have to do that. She didn't have to go without, either. Ugh, I feel like a total jerk now!'

Marsh sneezed softly, then grabbed Apple's stem and dragged her out of the door's way. Then she pulled her into the room and shut the door behind them. Marsh left the apple-stitched blanket draped on top of her, and gave her the creepy stuffed rabbit and an extra pillow. Apple didn't wake up through this whole exchange; in fact, her snores grew louder.

Meanwhile, a sense of unrest rose in Marsh as she settled back into bed.

'Why? Is she sorry about what she did, and want to make amends? Does she just want to undermine my reputation?'

'Or... am I looking too deeply into it? Did I just look cold? Is she really... just a simpleton after all?'

It took Marsh a while to grow tired enough to go back to sleep.