It was the day before Christmas and Paige was miserable.

"I knew I shouldn't have bought everything online," Paige grumbled to herself as she slipped on a pair of oven mitts as if she where going to war in preparation to deal with the turkey in the oven, "One day shipping is a joke."

Opening the oven Paige was ambushed by a puff of smoke to the face followed by the overwhelming smell of charcoal. Coughing and waving the smoke away with a towel she opened the window allowing the smoke to flee the house and welcome in the cold winter air.

Paige sighed as she leaned her forehead on the side of the window frame.

She normally liked Christmas. Right behind Valentine's Day and the Fourth of July, Christmas was her favorite holiday. But with just one hour before the Christmas party nothing was going right. The turkey was toast, her cat totaled her tree, and there was still no news on the delay of her husband's flight home. So far her only saving grace was that her parents had insisted on hosting the Christmas party at their place and that she didn't have to go over there until later. But later was becoming sooner, and then with the package with all her presents still having not arrived she was seriously considering calling in sick.

As she was contemplating this her phone lit up vibrating to a perky rendition to Away In A Manger that was far to cheerful for her fowl mood to handle at the moment. With a frustrated growl she threw off the oven mitts onto the counter and swiped up the phone.

"Hello?" she asked with barely concealed annoyance.

"How are you bookends?"

She perked up at the sound of the absured nickname on the other end of the line. Immediately all of Paige's grievances melted away.

"Jensen!"

Ever since her husband had gotten a promotion Jensen had been traveling for work more frequently then either of them had liked. But the pay was good and it allowed them to keep the house of their dreams (which currently smelled like a campfire ate a turkey but he didn't need to know that).

"How are you?'

"I'm good. I'm good," he kept his voice light in the way that he normally did when was preparing to tell her something he knew she wouldn't like.

Paige frowned, "Is everything okay? I thought you where supposed to arrive an hour ago. "

"About that," she could hear his wince over the phone, "My flight home got canceled."

"What?" Paige's outcry startled her cat into jumping off the kitchen counter.

"I know," Jensen huffed out a tired sigh, "there was a massive snowstorm that came out of nowhere. And with the way things look... I might not be able to make it back until the thirty first."

"...Oh," Paige sat down on the kitchen bar stool covering her face with the hand that wasn't holding the phone.

"I'll try to make it back as soon as I can but I can't make any promises."

"I see... You know what I have to go,"

"Paige wait-" she hung up on him.

Dropping the phone onto the counter Paige put her head in her hands. Of all of the disastrous things to happen today this one took the cake. It's been months since she's seen him in person and to think she might not see him again until after the new year?

She couldn't let that happen. There has to be something she could do.

Looking out the opened window her neighbor's car pulled up to their house.

Well. If he couldn't come home to her for Christmas, why couldn't she go to him?

Paige grabbed her phone and compared domestic travel options until her eyes wanted to fall straight out of her face. Flights to New York were impossible to book at the last minute, and she wasn't willing to consider taking a commuter bus all the way from Arizona. Blowing out a breath, she contacted a taxi service and winced at the exorbitant price tag, which would cost her a large chunk of her annual savings. Still, she loved Jensen, and if you were going to surprise the man you loved on Christmas, it was worth the extra hit to her nest egg, right?

Paige called the taxi service, asked them about discount rates for the long drive, and was barely packed before she heard a 'beep beep' from her driveway. "Already?" she breathed as she hurried down the stairs. Opening the front door, she quickly hollered. "Give me just a minute."

Snatching her coat off the rack and her phone and wallet from the small table in her entryway, she double-checked her purse for her house keys and locked the door. She turned and couldn't help but laugh at the huge sleigh sitting in her drive. "What's this?" she smiled. "I ordered a taxi for a trip to New York."

"Can't a sleigh take you to New York?"

"Not ordinarily."

"It's Christmastime. Shouldn't we expect the extraordinary during this festive holiday season?"

Still not sure what to make of the sleigh, Paige reluctantly put her overnight bag in the back and climbed onto the seat next to the driver. "Paige Wilson," she held out her hand.

"Stanley Mason," the man grinned and shook her hand. "Let's see if we can't get you to your love in time for Christmas."

"How'd you know I was going to see my boyfriend?"

"You have that look about you," Stanley shrugged. "And I'm a good guesser.

"Not to mention there aren't many who'd pay the sort of fee you're incurring if it wasn't love."

Paige couldn't argue with his logic and settled in for what she assumed would be a short trip to wherever the actual taxi was parked.

Two hours later, however, and she was beginning to wonder just what she'd gotten herself into.

Stanley's sleigh was pulled by some of the fastest reindeer she had ever seen, and they were making incredible time. Paige watched in awe as they passed through cities and towns, the Christmas lights and decorations flying by in a blur.

Finally, they reached New York City, and Stanley brought the sleigh to a stop in front of a high-rise building. Paige looked up in confusion.

"Why are we stopping here?" she asked.

Stanley grinned. "Your boyfriend is waiting for you at the top of this building."

Paige's heart skipped a beat. She had been so caught up in the whirlwind of the sleigh ride that she had forgotten why she was making this journey in the first place.

She thanked Stanley and made her way inside the building, taking the elevator up to the top floor. When she stepped out, she saw Jensen waiting for her, a surprised look on his face.

"Paige, what are you doing here?" he asked, stepping forward to embrace her.

"I couldn't bear the thought of spending Christmas without you," Paige replied, tears welling up in her eyes.

"You didn't have to do this," Jensen said softly, stroking her cheek. "But I'm glad you did."

They shared a tender moment, holding each other close, before Jensen pulled back slightly.

"I have something to tell you," he said, his expression serious.

Paige felt a sense of unease settle in her stomach. "What is it?"

Jensen hesitated for a moment before speaking. "I know we had planned a special Christmas together, but... I have to go away on a business trip. It's last minute, and I tried to postpone it, but it's important."

Paige's heart sank at Jensen's words. She had gone through so much trouble to surprise him and be with him on Christmas, only to hear that he had to leave again. The disappointment and frustration surged through her, and she felt a wave of anger building up inside her.

"Are you kidding me, Jensen?" Paige's voice trembled with a mix of emotions. "You couldn't have told me this before? You couldn't have postponed this trip for just one day?"

Jensen looked apologetic, his eyes pleading for understanding. "Paige, I know this is not ideal, but I promise it won't be long. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

The anger boiled over in Paige, and she felt a surge of hot tears prickling at her eyes. "Make it up to me? Do you know how much I went through just to be here with you? Do you even care about that?"

Jensen reached out a hand towards her, but Paige stepped back, brushing away his touch. "I need a moment," she whispered, her voice strained with emotion.

Without waiting for a response, Paige turned and hurried towards the nearest washroom, the tears now flowing freely down her cheeks. She closed the door behind her, leaning against it as she tried to steady her breathing and calm the storm of emotions raging inside her.

As she looked at her reflection in the mirror, Paige felt a mix of hurt, disappointment, and betrayal. She knew Jensen had no control over the last-minute business trip, but the timing couldn't have been worse. Christmas was supposed to be a time of joy and togetherness, and now it felt like everything was falling apart.

Taking a deep breath, Paige splashed some cold water on her face, willing herself to compose and collect her thoughts. She knew she needed to talk to Jensen, to let him know how she felt, but she needed to do it without letting her anger take over.