"I want it done right this time. No iffy situations like the car accident. I don't care how, just do it as soon as possible. I need her gone before its too late."

She had heard it with her own ears. Snow had known her step mother was cruel and unusual, but to try and kill her? To set something up like this? She would have never thought the woman would go so far. It scared her. She wasn't sure what to do at first, but knew whatever it was, she had to do it quickly. Who knew when the man her step mother was talking to was going to act. She packed what she could into a book bag, some clothes, a book of stories her mother had given her as a child, a picture of she, her brother, and her parents, and what little money she had(which wasn't much at all). She wasn't sure what she would do when she was out, but she just had to leave. And she had to leave now.

She looked out of her bedroom room. She was on the second story of the rather large house, so this would be difficult. Her room faced the back yard and in the back yard was the rather old trampoline she and her brother used to play on when they were a little younger. At least, when he had been with her. Now it was a little rusted, and she knew this was taking a huge leap of faith, literally, but she had a feeling if she tried sneaking down the stairs she would get caught. She crouched on her window sill, and taking a deep breath, she jumped, wincing as she landed on the old tarp, the springs squeaking in protest, but thankful holding her weight. She crawled off of the trampoline and hurried to go around the house, gasping when she almost ran right into a man.

Whether her step mother had known she was going to tr to run away, or the man who had been hired to kill her just happened to pick this moment to do the deed she would never know, but the man grabbed her and covered her mouth with a gag to keep her from screaming before he dragged her struggling form into the large expanse of woods behind the house. He took her deeper and deeper into the woods and threw her roughly on the ground. Fear welled up inside of snow as she layed there, sobbing, waiting for the man to do what ever he was going to do to her.

The man grabbed her by her long dark hair and jerked her up to her knees. She thought for sure that was going to be the end. That he would kill her then and there. There was a long pause though and next thing she knew, she felt a slash of the blade and the sudden release of her. Looking back, she saw the man holding her long hair in his hands. He was going to use the hair as proof of him 'killing' her, "Leave now. And never return, or it might be your step mother to do the killing."

Snow looked at him for a moment and jerking the gag from her mouth she said a quick thank you to him before she ran off, this time going further into the snowy woods. It was cold, and she was sore, still recovering physically from her recent car wreck apparently caused by her step mother trying to get rid of her. Snow blew around her and as she looked around, she realized she had no idea where she was, or how to even get out of the forest. Still, she continued on, she trembling as she ran, darting between the trees until she couldn't run any more. She fell into the snow, shivering, curling up there, sobbing. Maybe her step mother would get what she wanted. Maybe she would die out in the woods. That would make things easier for the woman. Make it seem even more like an accident. A poor runaway girl caught in a snow storm. The perfect cover story.

She thought it ironic. Her mother had named her Snow because she and been born outside, when her mother and father had been on a camping rip and it snowed. And now, she would die outside in the snow. Born in the snow, and died in the snow. It seemed right and yet wrong all at the same time.

Curling up more into her ball as the snow fell on her, she closed her eyes, letting the darkness of sleep take her in for what she thought to be the last time.

“I can't see a damn thing!” Al spat as he trudged through the thick snowfall.

“That's good,” Hans muttered, “The snowfall will cover our tracks.”

The two boys dragged a sled behind them with a blue tarp over several boxes of supplies. They'd manage to get several cans of green beans, corn, and spam. It wasn't much, but as far as they were concerned it was precious cargo. Al's teeth chattered as he tried to pull up his scarf to cover his face.

“Give me a second will ya?” Al demanded.

Hans ignored him and only pulled harder to move the sled. Al tried in vain to fix his scarf and pull the heavy sled at the same time.

“Come on Hans!,” Al whined. “I can't feel my no-”

Al tumbled face first into the snow after tripping on something. Hans dropped the rope he was holding to help Al up.

“You okay?” Hans asked as he helped his friend up.

“Ow, yeah,” Al wiped off the snow from his eyes. “Just tripped on this log. WHAT THE HELL?!”

Al jumped back when he saw he had tripped on a person buried in the snow. Hans started brushing off the snow that covered them. As he uncovered the snow he saw the unmistakable form of a young girl.

“It...it's a girl.” Hans stammered.

Al was pacing in circles covering his head.

“Holy shit, is...is she dead?!”

Hans pulled off his gloves and pressed them against the girls forehead. She was ice cold.

“Talk to me man!” Al cried, “is she dead?”

“I don't know.” Hans admitted. “I don't think so.”

Al grabbed Hans's shoulder, “Lets just go! We do not want to get involved in this!”

Hans thought for a moment, before pulling the blue tarp of the sled.

“What are you doing?!” Al demanded.

“We can't pull her with all this crap on here,” Hans shoved off the boxes of food, letting them fall in the snow.

Al wanted to say this was a bad idea, but already knew he could never convince Hans. He helped Hans lift the girl on the the sled and tied a rope around her waist to secure her. Hans then pulled off his jacket and covered her.

“Man, if she's dead...” Al muttered.

The two boys pulled the sled further into the woods, bound for their home.

It was quite a surprise when instead of coming home with the food like planned, Hans and Al came home with a girl. Max, one of the boys that lived with them in the house, stood up immediately and began giving order to the others on what to do. Not only was he the second oldest in the group under Hans(they were a few months apart) but he was the son of a doctor. He never had anything to do with his father anymore but he did inherit his medical ability.

"Al! Grab some blankets! As many as you can!" He had Hans lay the girl in one of the bedrooms and he himself put warm water into a bowl. Once they had the blankets they wrapped her up in them and he took a rag, dipping it in the water and placing it on her forehead.

She wad starting to look a little better. Her lips weren't as blue though were still somewhat pale and her cheeks were starting to get a rosy color to them again. It was all a good sign.

Max leaned back and sighed, "I think she'll be fine. Ill make something warm for her to drink when she wakes up." Standing up he moved over to their little wood stove and started boiling water. It was quiet and as Max started to make the drink of the hot chocolate, he spoke in attempt to break the tension, "You know, out of all the things you have brought home Hans, a girl is certainly the strangest." He chuckled, only his chuckle faltered when a soft moan came to his ears.

Turning he saw the girl begin to stir and Snow opened her eyes, blinking in confusion when she saw see was in a strange place she didn't recognize. The next thing she noticed was the seven boys around the bed she laid in. She gasped, sitting up slightly, her blue eyes wide with fear, "W-who are you? Where am I?"

Max moved carefully over to the bed, placing the cup of hot chocolate on the bedside table, "It's alright. Calm down. You're safe here." He nodded to Hans and Al, "Those two brought you here after you found you in the snow."

Snow looked over at the two and her eyes widened once again when they fell upon her brother. She sat up weakly, her body still trembling from the cold, causing her to wrap the blankets around herself tighter, "H-Hans?"

Han's blood ran cold when she recognized him. He knew in his heart the second he dug her out of the snow it was his sister. He prayed it wasn't, but now she was sitting here in the room with him. His head dropped downward, he couldn't bare to look at her. He'd abandoned her five years ago and never fulfilled his promise to come back for her.

“Whoa slow down!” Max gently lead Snow back. “You're body is still recovering, you're very luck you didn't get frostbite.”

“Otherwise we'd have to cut you're hands off.” Al blurted out.

Max kicked Al in the shin, “Why don't you be useful and get more blankets?”

Al disappeared for before returning holding two blankets.

“Uh, you sure you want these?” He made a face, “They're not exactly...clean.”

Max rolled his eyes, “Christ Al, she's practically a popsicle!”

“Well...” he hesitated, “These were the ones that...you know.”

Max stood up and snatched the blankets muttering, She don't need to know that, dummy!

He then carefully layered the blankets on top of Snow, making sure she was completely covered. Hans could see his sister still looking at him. As much as he wanted to melt into the floorboards, he knew he had to say something. He pulled up a wooden stool and sat next to her.

“I was gonna come back for you.” He finally muttered.

Snow allowed the boy to lead her back to laying down on the bed, though her eyes never left her brother. She had thought the worst had happened to him. Had thought he had died somehow and that she would never see him again. And yet here he was, alive and well. She was glad he was well, but at the same time, she was hurt and that hurt look reached her face.

When he pulled a stool up beside the bed, she watched him with sad eyes, tears filling them, "It's been five years Hans. How can you possibly try to tell me you were going to come back for me? You left me there. Alone with no one to turn to. You promised you would come back and take me with you....that was all a lie wasn't it? You never did plan on coming back for me, did you?"

Max, seeing how uncomfortable this was getting for Hans, stepped up, "Hey. How about we let you two talk about these matters later and a minute to talk about what you were doing out in those woods during a winter storm like that." To be honest, he was guessing the answer wasn't going to be a good one. She was certainly a mess with signs of a struggle. Her clothes were dirty and stretched like someone had grabbed her by them and threw her to the ground. And her hair looked freshly cut and quite evenly. Like someone had taken a blade to it.

Snow wrapped the blankets tighter around herself, averting her gaze from them, "I....I found out something....something that I shouldn't have known....I ran away and my step mother sent someone after me....he attacked me...but then changed his mind I think. He kind of cut my hair and sent me off. But I got lost and with me recovering from a car wreck I was just in....I didn't last too long in the snow."

Wanting to get off the topic of the attempt of her murder and back on the topic of her brother she looked at him, "Why didn't you come back Hans?"

Her words might as well have been blades that buried themselves in his chest. It was worse than he could have imagined. She was attacked and he wasn't there to help her. He shifted in his seat, trying to look anywhere but at Snow. His black hair shielded him from her tearful gaze. He did know if he could hold it together if he looked at her face.

“I wanted to come back for you,” he said quietly. “It's...complicated.”

He knew that wasn't any sort of answer, he didn't have the heart to tell her the truth.

Snow frowned more when he said he wanted to come back for her but it was too complicated. She didn't see how complicated it could be. All he had to do was come back for her. Sure he would have had to figure out how to do it without their step mom knowing, but with how Melissa went for her weekly pedicure, manicure, and hair appointments he could have figured it out. But then again, how could she think that when she had no idea what he had been through since then.

She looked away from him, shaking her head as tears rolled down her cheeks, "You could have at least let me know somehow that you were okay...I thought something horrible had happened to you."

Curling up more under the blankets she looked back at him and tried to force a small smile through her tears, "But....at least you're okay...I'm glad you're safe..."

Hans lifted his head, finally looked her in the eyes, rather than make him fall apart it filled him with relief and ease. Was this still the same little girl he left all those years ago? He gentle laid his hand against her forehead. He was relived that she was warm now. He sat back down and smiled.

"God, I knew you were stubborn," he started chuckling, "but I didn't know you were tougher than nails."

Hearing her brother's chuckle soothed Snow, reminding her of better times when their father and mother were still around. It also reminded her that they could be happy like that again now that they were both away from that horrid woman.

That is, if he let her stay there with him and these other six boys. She hoped he did. She didn't want to get separated from her brother ever again.He was the only family she had left. The only one she could really trust. If see lost him she didn't know what she would do.

She smiled up at him more and giggled at his comment, "If I am that strong I learned it from you." She felt much better now. Feeling in her body was back and now that she was finally safe after so long of living in fear, she grew tired.

She curled up more under the blankets and blinked sleepily, closing her eyes, but before falling completely asleep she reached over taking his hand and whispered, "Don't leave me again...okay?"

Hans held on to his sister's hand until she was peacefully asleep. He couldn't help but wonder if she really was laying there in front of him. Was this some wonderful dream? He leaned in and kissed the top of her head. I that moment her felt a flood of joy and relief wash over him. His sister was here with him at last and he wasn't going to lose her again.

"I love you Snow White," he whispered, "I'm not going anywhere."

Hans got up and joined Max and Al in the next room. They sat around a large round table filled with dirty dishes, cups, and empty cans. Hans began collecting as many dishes as he could.

"Hans? We're not cleaning dishes till the end of the week." Al laughed watching him work.

"I don't want my sister to think we live like pigs." He answered.

"I hate to break it to you Hans," Al shrugged, "but, we kinda do."

Hans pushed Al's feet off the table as he took one last plat that was under them.

"We won't as long as she's here." He said glaring at Al.

Max got up to help Hans as they went into the kitchen, leaving Al alone. Al knew Hans was the oldest, but sometimes he wished he wasn't in charge. He got up and walked back into the room Snow was in. He stared at her from the door way, thinking how appropriate her name was, on account of her pale skin. Like the rest of the boys he hasn't seen a girl in a long time. She had on a lot of blankets, but that didn't stop his imagination from filling in the details on how she looked underneath. Feeling like he satisfied his curiosity, he went back to the dinning room and lit up his pipe.

It was the next morning when Snow finally woke up, yawning and as she opened her eyes, sitting up, it took her a moment to remember where she was and what had happened the night before. Her brother had found her. He had brought her here. They were finally together again after so long. A bright smile came to her rose red lips as she pulled the blankets from off of her, looking about. If she was right, it seemed like all the boys were asleep, leaving her being the only one awake for the moment. She moved over to the window and looking outside, saw the snow storm had ceased, leaving the ground and trees covered in a beautiful fresh blanket of snow. This made her smile even more, thinking maybe she could convince her brother to go out and play in it with her. Maybe build a snow man or have a snow ball fight.

But, for now, she would let him and the others sleep. Looking around, it was easy for her to tell this was a house that only boys lived in. It was rather....untidy, even despite the fact she could see some recent attempt to straighten up a little. She smiled softly, shaking her head before she began to pick some things up and dust some things off. If she was going to be staying here with her brother and his friends, she might as well help them out a little bit in that way.

She hummed softly to herself, taking the broom in her hand, only to blink in surprise when some one took the broom from her hands. She looked up to see a blonde male looking down at her with a grin. This was one of the six boys, named Sam. He chuckled, "Let me take care of that. You really should be laying down in bed. If your brother catches you up instead of recovering he'll get worked up."

Snow smiled and gently took the broom back, "I'm fine. I feel much better now. Besides, Hans always worries about me, whether there's a reason for him to or not. He's kind of protective over me like that." She finished sweeping up the floors and threw the dirt away before looking about, "Where's the mop at?"

Sam pulled the mop from behind one of the closet doors and he himself grabbed a rag, "Well, at least let me help with the clean up."

"You don't have to. I can take care of it."

Sam gave her a charming smile, "If it give me a reason to be near such a beautiful girl I'll do it happily."

Yeah, he was a play boy. He knew it, and this being Han's sister didn't stop him from trying to woe her, though it didn't have much affect on Snow like it did other girls. She was too naive to think much of the comment. She only smiled, starting to mop the floors, "Alright. Well, I suppose you could help. Do you mind dusting off the shelves?"

In seeing his charming comment had gone straight over the girl's head, he sighed inwardly, "Yeah, I can do that." Then went to work dusting half halfheartedly.

Al opened his eyes and rolled out of bed. He scratched his fiery red curly head as he made his way to the dinning room. He squinted when he thought he saw Sam scrubbing the floor.

"What are you doing?" Al asked.

"Cleaning." Sam smiled.

Al rolled his eyes, "Okay, then why are you cleaning?"

Sam gave a sly look, "Oh, you wouldn't be interested. That Snow girl just asked me to cleanup a bit."

"She asked you?" Al said shocked, "Is she up?"

"Oh yeah!" Sam smirked, "Max, Wade, and Quinn are helping her clean the kitchen."

Al ran off and got a dust pan from under a closet. He headed for the kitchen.

"Miss Snow! Do you still need some help?!"

---

Hans inhaled deeply sitting up. He gave small yawn as he got up, leaving his bed a mess. He stopped dead in his tracks. Everyone was up and...cleaning. Sam was polishing up a bronze lamp, Max and Quinn where outside wiping the windows, Al came in carrying a pile of used paper towels to throw away, and Wade was holding a trash bag open as Snow and Nick dropped in dust they gathered up.

"Uh, Snow?" Was all Hans could say as he watched.

Snow had been planning on cleaning the cabin by herself as sort of a thank you to her brother and his friends for saving her and letting her stay there with them. Only as the boys woke up and came down the stairs one by one, they each insisted on helping her, even when she told them it wasn't necessary and that she could do it on her own. So she gave them different tasks to do and everyone got to cleaning.

Her brother was the last to come out and hearing him say her name and look at them all very confused, she just looked over at him smiling and shrugged, "I wanted to clean up a little bit as a thank you, but they insisted on helping." Setting the dust pan aside, she looked around and smiled, "I think we're done."

She smiled more and went happily over to her brother and took his hand, dragging him toward the door, "Come on Hans. Let's go out in the snow. We cool build a snowman! Or make a snow fort! We could even have a snow ball fight!" She exclaimed, giggling.