Ianto was just drifting off to sleep when Jack shook his shoulder. Their plans were to spend Christmas day with Ianto's family, and Rhiannon had suggested they stay the night to make it easier. That way they could take the kids to carols on Christmas Eve, and be there on Christmas morning to watch them open their presents.

'Ianto,' Jack's voice called.

'Mphf,' was the only response he got. Jack was going to need a better reason for him to wake up properly. The house wasn't large, but the spare room and the bed were comfortable enough for Ianto to not want to give in to Jack's nocturnal interruption.

'Ianto,' he said, shaking him again. 'Do you hear that?'

'Hear what?'

'There was tapping on the roof.'

'Probably just squirrels or owls,' he replied sleepily.

'Wait, I think I can hear someone downstairs.'

Did Jack really have to do this now? Ianto thought. 'It'll just be Rhi putting the presents under the tree.'

'No, she's already done that.'

'Then it's David trying to get a sneak peak.' He was starting to get annoyed. The more Jack talked the more awake he felt. Then he heard the sound coming up the stairs. Heavy footsteps, not a child's sneaky patter.

'Did you hear that?'

'Yep,' Ianto replied, now sitting up.

'Maybe it's a burglar.'

'On Christmas Eve?'

'Why not? Plenty of stuff to steal. Wish I had my gun,' Jack commented.

'Not in my sister's house you don't.' Ianto had firm rules about that. Their guns would stay safely locked up in the SUV, assuming they were called out to an emergency.

They both froze for a moment, still sat up in bed, listening to the sound approaching the door. In Ianto's head he was thinking "don't be such a chicken. You're both Torchwood for God's sake, do something!"

He didn't get a chance. Unexpectedly a large figure pushed the door open and entered.

'Captain Jack Harkness?'

'Um, yeah,' Jack replied awkwardly, too distracted by the appearance of the man stood in front of them. Even in the dark his features were distinctive. Long white beard, big black boots, red suit and hat trimmed with white fur.

'Excellent. I need your help.'

A gigantic grin spread across Jack's face as he grabbed Ianto by the shoulders and shook him excitedly.

'Oh my God. It's Santa and he needs our help. How awesome is that?'

'Only Torchwood,' Ianto sighed.

Ianto still wasn't sure he could believe what he was seeing.

'How do we know he's not just some nutter off the street?' Ianto muttered under his breath, leaning in towards Jack.

'They're not all nutters,' Santa replied, 'Some of them actually do quite a good job. I do have a brand to protect after all.'

'So you're really Santa?' Jack asked.

'Of course.'

'And why are you here. I mean, not that it's not expected, it being Christmas Eve and all, but I'm pretty sure you don't do the PR visit for everyone.'

'The Doctor said if I ever needed help I should find you. And right now I need a lot of help.'

'Oh,' Jack sat up a little straighter. Getting approval from The Doctor was like getting an award from the school principal in Jack's world. 'What can we do for you, sir?'

'Close the door. The others might hear us,' Ianto interrupted.

'Oh don't worry, they're all fast asleep,' Santa said reassuringly.

'You don't know Rhi. She hears everything.' The way he said it made it sound like he still remembered every teenage moment when she'd busted him trying to sneak out of the house, and that it somehow still irked him to this day,

'She won't hear us. How else do you think I've managed to deliver presents into every house on the planet without ever waking anyone up? It's all part of the magic.'

'Magic Santa sleeping dust?' Ianto queried skeptically.

'If you like,' he replied.

'I can't believe we're discussing the finer points of yuletide logistics.'

'You said you needed help,' Jack said, trying to steer the conversation back on track.

'Yes. I admit I probably should have contacted you sooner. I was rather hoping it would sort itself out, but now we're in a right mess.'

'What happened?'

'It's the elves.'

Jack knew he wouldn't be popular calling the team into the hub on Christmas Eve. Tosh of course, was there right on time. Owen was second, surprisingly, though still grumbling. Gwen was last, having had a row with Rhys first about having to go. By the time they had all gathered in the boardroom, Ianto already had a fresh round of coffee going.

'No suit?' Owen asked.

Ianto looked down and inspected his wardrobe. Dark jeans and a mint green shirt, casual vest, undone and hanging loose, and black leather shoes. It was what he'd been wearing earlier that evening.

'Staying at my sister's,' he said by way of explanation.

'I think you look lovely,' said Tosh.

'Thanks Tosh.'

' So why are we all here?' Owen asked, 'And don't tell me it's because Santa needs help.'

'He does,' announced Jack, entering the room with Santa following in after him.

Three faces stared back stunned.

'Well bugger me,' Owen said, 'now I've seen everything.'

'Coffee?' Ianto offered Santa, just as he was passing Jack his own steaming mug,

'Just cocoa for me thanks. Never drink coffee.'

For anyone else Ianto might have been offended, but this was Santa. He obliged and went to fetch some.

When everyone was settled again Jack started the briefing.

'Okay, so apparently there's some kind of sickness affecting Santa's elves.' The team were impressed that Jack could keep a straight face saying that. Torchwood was bizarre a lot of the time but this was a while new level of wacky.

'What kind of sickness?' asked Gwen.

'Probably best I start from the beginning,' said Santa. 'Jessie was the first. She was helping sort out the lists and kept complaining she felt cold. Never one to compIain, Jessie, and elves don't feel the cold. She started to get feverish but it's not like any fever I've seen. Red spots all over her. She slipped into a coma not long after. Then others started to get it too.'

'How many cases?' asked Owen procedurally.

'Over two hundred when I left. Almost every elf has it now. It spread so quickly that by the time we realised it was a problem, it was too late.'

'And what about you. Any symptoms?'

'Nothing. All the reindeer seem fine too. It seems to be just the elves.'

Owen raised an eyebrow at the mention of reindeer, and then remembered who he was talking to.

'Maybe Owen should run some tests on you, just to be sure,' Jack offered.

'If you think it will help.'

'It's a start.'

'Not to be blunt,' Gwen added, 'but what happens now? I mean, it's Christmas Eve.'

Santa gave a tired sigh. 'I don't know. The workshop has come to a standstill. Apparently some of the machinery has broken down and can't be fixed. We haven't met quota for gifts yet, and have no one to pack, sort and manage delivery. It's a disaster. Four hundred and fifty seven years and we've never missed a Christmas.'

Jack reached across the table and put a placating hand on his arm.

'We'll do what we can. No one's going to stop Christmas this year.'

'Then we best be off.'

'Off where?'

'The North Pole of course.'

At the mention of needing a logistics expert, Gwen insisted that Rhys come with them. Not only that, but hopefully she would be forgiven for bolting out of the flat earlier. She couldn't wait to tell him as she grabbed for her phone.

'Rhys I need you to come meet me at the hub.'

'Done already, or is the world ending on Christmas Eve?'

'Not exactly. I was thinking we could use your expertise.'

'Oh, expertise now is it? And who would we be helping?'

Rhys nearly dropped the phone at Gwen's response.

'Santa? he said incredulously. 'That's not even funny Gwen. Why can't you just be honest. If it's aliens taken over Penarth, it's fine, really, just tell me.'

'I am Rhys! Come on, just get up and hurry.'

Assembled at the hub, no one was brave enough to ask the question until Ianto piped up.

'So exactly how do you get to the North Pole? Last I checked British Airways didn't have a direct flight.'

'We take the sleigh through the rift of course.'

'There's a rift over the North Pole?'

'Well, the North Pole isn't actually at the North Pole. Too may polar bears and they're vicious blighters. Anyway, it's quite lucky you being where you are. You have a rift here, we have a rift at the North Pole. Think of it like a direct connection.'

Santa lead them across the plass. 'Hop in.'

Five faces looked totally confused. It was Jack who figured it out first.

'Ah, perception filter on the sleigh,' Jack said. 'Nice one.'

Just as quickly as Jack had said it, the sleigh more or less appeared in front of them, complete with eight reindeer. It was just as you would have imagined it. Seemingly carved from a single piece of wood, heavily lacquered but with neat gold filigree adorning the sides and the edges. It was altogether larger than expected though, the front seat covered in a thick burgundy leather with neat brass studs, and an even larger compartment behind the main seat with a small bench for sitting, but mainly for carrying the large swathe of gifts that should have otherwise been there.

'All it takes is for you to imagine it there and it becomes visible.'

'Bloody hell,' said Rhys, 'you don't see that every day now, do you?'

They all clambered in, disconcertingly looking for seat belts that didn't exist. Even though there were the six of them, they fitted quite comfortably three on each side.

'Off we go then,' Santa said cheerily.

The sleigh rose sharply and they clung tightly to the edges and each other. Just a quickly as they'd risen into the sky, a flash of light burst forward and a star dusted sky appeared in front of them. Now when they looked down, no longer could they seem the sodium lit metropolis of Cardiff, but a long expanse of untouched white snow, dotted with the occasional patch of thick forest.

Before they had a chance to properly admire the uninterrupted views, they were descending down again towards an urbanised area.

Rhys stumbled out of the sleigh.

'God, I think I'm going to be sick.' he moaned.

'And here's you telling me you're the king of roller-coasters,' mused Gwen.

If any of them were expecting a quaint little village sparkling with fairly lights, tinsel covered trees and tinkling music, they were sorely disappointed. In front of them was a modern town, clean lines of streets and small townhouses dotted along the avenues. At one end was an industrious looking plant, but with sleekly designed glass panelling across the entire facade, and fitting in unobtrusively with the surroundings.

'Not quite what I expected,' Jack observed.

'Yes, the storybooks haven't quite caught up. We're very twenty first century here, supplying Christmas to the modern world.'

'And the sleigh?' Jack asked bemused. 'Not quite in line with the rest.'

'Me being archaic. Like classic cars, they never go out of style.'

'Sounds like someone I know,' Ianto muttered, wrapping his coat tighter around him.

'Come on,' Santa said, making his way toward the elaborate frontage of the building in front of him, 'The sooner we get inside, the sooner I can get you all up to speed.'

They entered the enormous lobby, taken aback by it's beauty. The floor was covered in a tessellated pattern of marble in shades of blushing rose and sage green, in amongst which sat intricate designs of gold and silver. The craftsmanship of the masonry was unsurpassed by anything they'd ever seen before. The furniture was all polished cherry and mahogany wood and there was more of the same fine leather in deep hues of claret and spruce. It reminded Jack of the elegant men's smoking lounges from the 1920's, but on a much larger scale.

Stood at the centre of the lobby was a sharp suited man, his short white blond hair and dark square spectacles casting an authoritative look about him, tablet computer tucked under his arm.

'Ah, Santa, good to have you back, sir. I take it these are the consultants. Can I set you all up in the boardroom?'

'That would be excellent, thank you. Everyone, this is Brady. He's my chief of operations. And one of the few lucky ones not to be affected by this mysterious illness.'

'Pleasure to meet you all. This way.'

Whilst they were being lead down one corridor after another, Brady was conversing seriously with Santa, holding out his tablet to show him graphs of some sort. Jack caught only snatches of their conversation. Something about estimated production and dispatch.

Jack poked Ianto in the side. 'Remind you of anyone?'

Ianto blushed slightly. 'Never underestimate the value of a good assistant.'

After various discussions in the boardroom the problem seemed much bigger than just a few sick elves. The entire production that was Christmas had come to a complete standstill as a consequence.

'I know we're meant to be helping, but even if we figure out the problem with the elves, how do we get everything done in time?'

'Time's relative here because of the rift. I can't quite explain it, but it's almost as if time moves slower outside the North Pole, meaning that we can get more done here in an hour than what passes for an entire day outside. It would be impossible to deliver all the world's gifts in a single night otherwise. I hate to say it, but if we can just get everything back in working order, we might not need the elves. We need to find a cure, but we also need to make sure that Christmas isn't delayed a moment longer.

We've already lost quite a bit of time. I know you all want to do what you can and there's so much to do, and I've already asked a great deal, but I have one more favour to ask.'

'What is it?'

'I'm going to need someone to help with delivering presents. Who's most accomplished at flying?'

Everyone in the room sat there in silence. Sick elves and broken machinery were one thing, but flying a sleigh?

'If it flies, I can fly it,' Jack said.

'Excellent. We'll have to split up the reindeer. They won't be happy about it because they'll get tired quicker but they'll understand that we're doing it to keep everything on schedule as best we can.'

Santa stood up from his chair and started walking down the corridor, indicating they should follow him. Ianto sidled up to Jack but he quickly cut him off.

'If you mention the incident with the glider, you'll be getting a lump of coal for Christmas.'

'Wouldn't dream of it,' Ianto smirked. 'Just don't drive it like you do the SUV.'

'What's wrong with how I drive the SUV?'

'Nothing,' Ianto replied blithely.

Brady efficiently reappeared at that moment and handed his tablet to Santa once more for inspection. Whatever he was shown caused him to frown with concern.

'Whoever is left has been isolated to prevent it spreading any further,' Santa explained. 'It also means that wherever you're working, you'll unfortunately have to be isolated too. If it can be transferred from elf to elf, people might also be able to carry it elsewhere. I can't lose what few elves we have left that aren't already sick. At least until we're sure.'

'Okay, so we split up. Owen, I don't need to tell you to get down to their infirmary and start working out what's wrong and how to fix it. Tosh, take the workshop. If anyone can get the systems back up and running it's you. Gwen, you and Rhys help out with the lists and then Rhys can see if you can get the delivery systems back up and working. Ianto, I'm going to need a navigator, and no one's more qualified at packing and organising. If we can get that sorted, and I think we'll be in business.'