[20.  Fragments of time.]

Meera shrieked as the snowball hit her in the back.  She could feel the wet clump stuck to the rough fabric of her coat, and she spun trying to knock it loose with her hand, always just out of reach.  She finally rumpled the fabric that the ball fell to the ground, and she bent down to scoop up a handful in the cold night air. She threw the ball, and it landed far short of her mark, Dick, who leaned against the shed door and grinned at her. 

She scooped again, and threw the ball properly hard this time. It hit Dick directly in the collar, and he promptly looked flabbergasted and indignant, obviously thinking he was safe for at least one more toss. He bent down to scoop more snow of his own, and squirmed as the snow went down inside his jacket.

"What, you've gone all ponce, have you?" Meera tried her best sneer and lobbed another ball at Dick, barely missing his head this time.

"It went down my jacket!" he flailed a little more, then relaxed as the snow dropped out the bottom. He scooped and tossed, hitting Meera in the chest, and she scooped and ran after him as he ducked back inside the shed, taking the golden glow of his lantern with him. 

She threw, he caught and set down his lantern in one smooth motion, and returned fire, and Meera shrieked at the unexpected volley. Thwap, another thud in the chest, and she grinned and ran after Dick, and promptly knocked him into the pile of straw where she'd woken.

She landed on top of him in a heap, and his rakish grin was right there in her face. She kissed him on the lips, then felt her face flush and bit her lip. He sat there, looking dazed for a moment, more surprised than when the first snowball had hit him. 

"Sorry?" Meera wasn't sure whether that was the right thing to say, nor even if it was right to say anything at all.

"Sorry, yeah? I'm not."  Dick pulled her back close and kissed her back this time.

"So that's where my first kiss is."

"First? Well then. How'd that go for you?"

"Pretty good for being surrounded by sheep and covered in snow!"

"Pretty good just for that, yeah?"

"Pretty good all around, really." Meera felt her face flush again, and she looked away. 

An ewe from the birthing pen started bleating, and Dick jumped up. 

"It's time!"