He hobbled into the cabin after a full day skiing at the resort and collapsed onto the couch with a loud groan. "Oh god I hurt," he said into the empty space.

Matt had taken a well-deserved vacation after a tumultuous year which saw the final last gasps of his ailing marriage and starting a new venture.

Divorced after 14 years and two kids. It still astounded him that his wife up and left after over a decade of marriage saying she was tired of him not being home. He understood that and made allowances like quitting his dream job of being his brother's head of security to take on a more stable life, a considerably more boring life, but even that couldn't save it.

Then he found out she'd taken up with one of the single dads from his kid's school and they were engaged to be married next year. She sure moved on fast, he thought bitterly with a mental shake of his head.

His kids had gone with his wife for the Christmas break and he was feeling too much like Scrooge to face the big family Christmas with his parents, brothers and their families.

He'd taken a cabin at an exclusive resort at Deer Valley for the week. The cabins were self-sufficient and fully stocked with whatever the guests requested, in Matt's case all he really wanted was a supply of Oreos, but the usual services from a five-star resort were still available including spa treatments, a personal chef, or butler if needed.

He didn't want any of those trappings though, he just wanted the solitude to rest and recharge the batteries again. To take stock of where his life was now headed.

After he'd checked in he'd spent the first full day sleeping. In bed, on the sofa in front of the fire, reading a book while sitting in a chair by the floor to ceiling windows, it didn't matter, only to drag himself completely awake when he needed sustenance or the bathroom.

The next morning he woke feeling more refreshed than he had in the past 12 months or so. He hauled himself out of bed and took care of his morning routine before shuffling out to make himself some breakfast and coffee. As he ate, he gazed out the windows to the picture-perfect scene.

The trees were all dressed in their snowy finery, the weak sun sparkling off the icy diamonds dangling from the tips of the branches and in the far distance in the valley, he could just make out the township blanketed in snow and Christmas cheer. Time to break out the skis, he thought to himself.

Within an hour, he'd dressed and loaded his skis onto the snowmobile that belonged to the cabin and headed up to the snowfields. He spent the day up and down the slopes relishing the virtual silence of the harder trails and trying to avoid where possible the hustle and bustle of the family-friendly slopes.

As the day came to a close and the skies darkened with incoming snow conditions, Matt took his final run down the slope to his snowmobile but because of the change in visibility, he missed seeing a rocky outcrop and his ski caught on it sending him tumbling down onto the harder packed snow and more hidden rocks.

"FUCK!" he cursed himself loudly as he lay there taking stock of any injuries.

"Hey, don't move just yet. Are you okay?" A woman's voice, heavy with a New York accent, came from behind him as she slid to a stop with a spray of snow. "I saw you take that fall. Is anything broken?" she asked as she pulled off her mask, helmet, and gloves, concern in her green eyes. She started to feel up his legs for broken bones, then his arms.

"I'm okay," he said gruffly, brushing away her hands.

Her eyes had unnerved him as she searched his face for any distress. They were crystal clear and the shade of the finest emerald and her hair formed a caramel waterfall spilling from the black Runaway Tours beanie pulled firmly on her head.

Shit! He needed to get out of here. If she's a Bon Jovi fan, she'll recognize him as soon as the helmet came off. He sat up and started brushing the melting snow from himself before standing.

"Nothing's broken." He clipped on his skis again and pushed away from her.

"You're welcome!" she yelled after him, "Asshole!"

Lauren watched the rude man as he made his way down the slope. It was easy to do because he stood out head and shoulders above everyone else. "Oh, those shoulders," she sighed to herself, "They're almost as good as Matt Bongiovi's."

"Stupid males and their stupid pride," she muttered as she clipped her own gear back into place and headed down the mountain. She would be running late for work now, she cursed.

~~*Lauren*~~

Fucking bullshit! What she wouldn't give to be back on the sprawling Jersey beaches, celebrating and enjoying margaritas by the ocean with her friends. The goodbye hugs at the airport were tearful. She'd just found her friend was pregnant and couldn't even stay because of work.

Here there was nothing but fluffy white blankets of snow.

Lauren worked as a masseuse at the resort tucked away from the rest of the township. It catered for all the big spenders and high rollers. She hated some of the male clientele that thought just because she was giving them a massage, that she'd give them a happy ending massage as well when they threw wads of cash at her.

The thought made her visibly shudder.

She raced into the staff entrance and headed straight for her locker for her uniform. Lauren had about half an hour to shower, change and make herself presentable as required by the resort.

"You're late," her supervisor groused as Lauren scampered past his office.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry Joe," Lauren said as she signed in and grabbed an apple from the snack bar, "I had to stop for some asshole on the black slope today. He didn't appreciate my concern over possible injuries when he hit an outcrop and the weather came in. I couldn't see shit out there."

"Okay, but you've got a booking in an hour," Joe replied checking his watch, "Cabin Six. Full body deep tissue."

"On it!" she called as she raced away. Joe stood in the doorway and watched the little pocket-rocket take off down the hallway to the staff bathrooms. He chuckled fondly and returned back to his paperwork.

~~*Earlier*~~

Matt had come back from the slopes and stripped out of his wet snow gear, storing it in the mudroom to dry out. He groaned as he hobbled into the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine, a glass and a box of cookies as a snack on the way through to the living room. He coaxed the fire into life and collapsed onto the sofa, the box of Oreos resting on his chest as he munched away happily.

However, when he reached for his wine his back muscles pulled violently. The pain shot down his back and through his glutes. Matt bellowed in pain and hissed through his teeth. He managed to reach the house phone behind him with a lot of cursing and dialed reception.

"Reception. How may I help you?"

"I've wrenched my back on the slopes today," Matt huffed.

"Do you need the Doctor, sir?" the concerned voice came crackling down the line.

"No, it's not that bad," Matt said gruffly, "I need a masseuse just to loosen the muscles. I should be fine after that."

"Certainly, Sir," the receptionist said, "We can have our therapist up to your cabin within the hour."

"Fuck, can you get him here any sooner?" Matt asked.

"We can try our best, Sir," came the cool reply, "but with the blizzard forming it may take them a little while to navigate their way up the mountain. Cabin Six, is that correct?"

Matt flicked his eyes to the windows and saw that the weather had turned for the worse. "I guess that will have to do. Cabin Six." He tried to hang up the phone but missed the cradle and the handpiece fell to the floor to taunt him with the faint tone.

"Just my fucking luck," he said to the empty space.

He couldn't reach his wine or the remote for the television so he finished the last of the cookies and watched the fire as he relived some of the happier times with his kids over the past year to take his mind from the pain. Soon, his eyes drifted closed as darkness fell over the valley beyond the wall of windows.