The Star of Seren Glen
Author: MoonFireFic
Beta: Milady_Dragon
Rating: PG
Characters: Ianto/Jack, Owen, Tosh, Doctor (10th), Gwen/Rhys, Alice, Santa, Andy, Others
Written for the Long Live Ianto Holiday Challenge - Prompts: elf!ianto, candy cane, ornament, winter fair
Summary: Ianto Jones, call sign: Hot Toddy, and his former team of special ops elves, are asked by Santa to undertake a special holiday mission to save the Christmas Star and Winter Fair of the small village of Seren Glen in Northeast Wales.
A/N: After far too much work related travel this month, I ended up watching Disney's Prep and Landing more then once. This story takes place in that universe, but other then Santa himself, most of the characters are merely mentioned.
Chapter One
Elfsburg, North Pole
List and Destination Division
December 23rd - 09:30
"Jingle Bells, this tech is swell; the list is almost done," Ianto sang as he took one last look at the naughty and nice list before uploading it into the iList for Santa's sleigh.
Ianto Jones, Chief Researcher and Head of List and Destination Compliance, sat back in satisfaction as he watched the tablet sized device scan and upload the traditional parchment laden list. After twelve months of careful calculations and cross checking, ensuring that every address and chimney was current, and that each child's status had been checked, not once, but twice as per protocol, it was finally finished. Pulling his watch out from the pocket of his gold striped maroon waistcoat, he checked the time. He still had about fifteen minutes until he was due in Santa's office; just enough time to brush the archive and map dust off of his forest green suit and enjoy one last cup of peppermint coffee before he had to leave. Now if he could just find where he had left his cap with the jaunty gold jingle, he would be ready to go and maybe even impress Miss Holly when he arrived.
Ten minutes later, list uploaded and secured, suit suitably brushed, and cap set at a rakish angle, Ianto stepped out of his office onto the main floor of L&D. With a nod to Peterson and Wallace, he stepped inside the division chimney and keyed in the code for the North Pole Command Center Hub. The chimney-port commenced the teleport sequence and with a burst of gold sparks and a whoosh of magic he was gone.
Ianto emerged in the main hallway of the hub. After checking that he still had the satchel holding the electronic list in place he quickly made his way past the Prep and Landing teams and the coal elves, tipping his cap as he went. When he reached the entrance to the great hall leading to Santa's office, he paused to catch his breath and adjust his gold tie one last time before starting towards Miss Holly's desk.
"Good morning Miss Holly," Ianto greeted the pretty blonde elf as he stopped in front of the ornate red and gold filigree doors that led to Santa's office.
"Mister Jones," she replied, pausing her typing to look at him over the top of her glasses. "Dressed for the occasion I see," she continued, taking in his appearance. Ianto felt his cheeks flush red under her scrutiny and silently prayed that the tips of his pointed ears would not follow suit. As Ianto started to blush deeper, she took pity on him. "He's expecting you, go right in," she added gesturing to the door with her right hand before giving him a smile and returning to her typing.
Ianto returned it and quickly turned to the door, willing his blush down and promising himself that once the Christmas rush was over he was definitely going to ask Miss Holly out for a cup of cocoa.
The door closed behind him and Ianto stood in front of it for a moment, once again in awe over the sheer size of Santa's office.
"Come on in Ianto," Santa called, setting down his cup of cocoa and turning in his seat so that his attention was on the elf.
Ianto made his way over to Santa's desk, ignoring the armchairs on the other side of it to stand alongside Santa's chair and present the iList to him personally.
"Your list sir," he said, handing it over. "Checked twice as per redundancy protocol. This is the new portable version that can be connected directly to the SAT-NAV in your sleigh." He watched as Santa scrolled through the names and noticed that one of them was blinking, indicating a change in status. "It's set to interface directly with the naughty and nice database, and will update all the way up until you leave the command center." Santa continued to look it over before setting it down on the desk.
"Thank you Ianto," he said with a kind smile. "It seems that everything is in order. " Ianto beamed at the praise.
"Miss Sato, I believe I have you to thank for the up to the minute updates do I not?" Santa asked, looking at one of the armchairs in front of him. Ianto blinked, noticing for the first time that two of them were occupied. A pretty Asian elf with glasses sat in one and a sour faced male elf in a lab coat in another.
"Tosh? Owen?" Ianto asked, surprised to see his old teammates.
"Hello Ianto," Tosh replied with a shy smile, while Owen just nodded in acknowledgement of his former commander.
"Please join us," Santa prompted, gesturing towards a third chair. "We have one more attending this meeting; he should be joining us shortly."
Ianto took his seat, his mind racing as he tried to work out why Santa had called them together. The three of them had left Holiday Assurance over a hundred years ago; the loss of the fourth member of their team in a freak blizzard over Wales being enough for each of them to give up working for Elf Special Ops, settling into semi-retirement in various other departments that appealed to their individual skills. Ianto had gone into List and Destination Compliance, Toshiko into Tech and Toy Design, and Owen into Stealth and Sparkle Research. They would check up on each other from time to time, but the memories of losing their teammate would always surface and make it too painful for them to stay together for very long. As the three of them shared a look, he realized that they were as in the dark as he was as to what the big guy was up to.
The door opened and a gangly elf dressed in Prep and Landing gear strode through and stopped alongside Santa's desk. "Andy Davidson, call sign: Eggnog reporting as requested sir," he stated, raising his hand to his brow in salute, and ignoring Owen's snort at his call sign.
"At ease Andy," Santa said with a smile, biting back a chuckle. "Won't you join us for a cup of Mrs. Claus's cocoa?" Andy's face broke into a huge grin and he quickly settled into the fourth and final chair before snatching a cup off the coffee table and sighing in contentment as he sat back and sipped from his mug, leaving a small mustache of foam on his face.
"I suppose you're all wondering why I called you here," Santa began once they were all settled. "I know that most of you have been out of field work for some time." Tosh paled and Owen glanced over at her in concern. "But we have a crisis situation, and I fear I need the best we have to handle it."
"Forgive me sir," Ianto replied, noting the reaction of his former team. "But my team is retired. Isn't there someone else better suited to this mission?"
"Afraid not son," Santa replied, causing Owen to scowl. "This is of the upmost importance. It concerns the Seren Lights." Ianto gasped in surprise; the Seren Lights were twelve Christmas stars situated around the world that were hung each year on Christmas Eve as guideposts, denoting the major turns in Santa's route.
"What's happened to them?" Tosh asked, her soft voice filling the suddenly quiet room.
"It's one in particular that concerns me," Santa replied with a sigh. "The star in North East Wales is in danger of not being lit this Christmas Eve." Owen and Ianto exchanged a look, suddenly knowing exactly why they had been called into this meeting.
"And you want us to ensure that it is hung right and proper, and that Christmas Eve goes off without a hitch am I right?" Owen asked, already knowing the answer.
"Got it in one Owen," Santa replied with a grin. Seeing the distraught look on Toshiko's face, he hastened to continue. "I realize that returning to where you lost your teammate is the last thing you want to do, but Christmas Eve is in danger, and I wouldn't ask if there was anyone else I trusted with this." He looked past them at the clock on the wall. "We have less than two days to make this right. All of the children in North America and the United Kingdom are counting on us to make this happen. The three of you were part of the original team to place the star in Seren Glen. Andy here has been with Prep and Landing for the last fifty years, and knows the ins and outs of the area." He looked at each of them in turn, hoping they would understand how important this was. "If you combine his local knowledge with Ianto's strategy, Toshiko's tech, and Owen's creativity with sparkle dust, I have every confidence that the four of you will see this through and Christmas will be saved
Ianto looked down into his mug, studying the marshmallows floating within as if to divine the best way to answer.
"I'll do it sir," Tosh blurted out, interrupting his reverie. Ianto looked up in surprise and saw the determination on her face. "If for no other reason than to honor Doc's memory, we will see this through." She stood from her chair and raised her head high, the jingle of the bell on her cap distracting them momentarily from the shaking of her hands.
"I'm in too," Andy said standing up beside her and slamming his mug back onto the table. "If for no other reason than to ensure that Miss Tosh has all the backup she needs." He glanced over at Tosh, his cheeks and ears flaming red.
Owen stood up as well. "Guess that means I'm in as well," he said with a grimace. "Can't have you lot getting eaten by a stray dog as you didn't pack enough sparkle bombs can I?" He crossed his arms and turned to Ianto, raising an eyebrow.
Ianto placed his own mug on the table. "Then the vote is unanimous," he observed, rising to his feet. "Team Icicle is back in business." He felt Tosh flinch as he used the team's old call sign.
"Splendid!" Santa exclaimed, clapping his hands and opening his desk drawer. "Report to Holiday Assurance immediately for debriefing. Your team needs to be ready to leave by 20:00 hours." He pulled out four clearance passes and handed one to each of the elves. "Remember, I'm counting on you to have the star up and in place by Christmas Eve. Don't let me down."
The four of them raised their hands in salute before heading to the office door. As the group returned to the main hall and filed into a nearby chimney-port, Ianto wondered if he still had it in him to lead the team out into the perils of the human world, all in the name of goodwill and Christmas cheer. As he swiped his access card and punched in the code for Holiday Assurance, he hoped enough of his former training remained to see the team through and make things right.
Seren Glen
Northeast Wales
December 23rd – 15:00
"Can you believe the nerve of that guy?" Rhys Williams, Mayor of Seren Glen, ranted to his girlfriend, PC Gwen Cooper. "The day before Christmas Eve and this Frobisher bloke shows up nice as you please and pulls the financing. No frills, no fuss, not even a sorry, just a half-arsed apology and with the explanation that a 'severe lack of funding in the National Trust' necessitates that the Seren Glen Christmas Eve Winter Fair not occur this year." He slammed his fist down on his desk in anger. "How can they do this?"
"I know how hard you've been working on this," Gwen soothed, coming around the desk to pull him into her arms. "Smith already has the carousel half done, and the school has been practicing the nativity for the last two weeks." Seeing Rhys close his eyes in frustration, she reached up to kiss his cheek. "We'll think of something yeah? Even if we have to light up the square with bloody candles and a bonfire like Grannie says they used to, we'll find a way to make it festive, you'll see." Rhys shook his head and smiled at her optimism.
"Always sunshine and rainbows you are," he said affectionately. "Unless you aren't getting your own way that is," he added with a sly grin and Gwen scowled at him before swatting him in the arm. "Alright love, let's call an emergency council meeting at seven-thirty tonight and see what the others can come up with. I know we don't have enough of a budget to pull off the carousel, or the tree lighting, or the nativity stage, but maybe one of them will have some ideas."
"I'll head over to the school and see if Rose can get some of the parents of the students in the play to attend," Gwen replied. "Oh! And Rhiannon too – she can get the PTA riled up via the phone tree faster than you can say fruitcake," she added with a grin.
"And I'll track down Smith and see if he can find a solution to our carousel problem," Rhys responded, dropping a kiss on her nose. He opened the door to his office and called his secretary over, knowing that they would need all the help they could get to pull this off. "Emma, we're closing shop early," he said flipping the open sign on Williams Haulage over to closed, as Gwen waved and slipped out the door. "Can you run by Harkness Outfitters and see if Jack is willing to donate some of their generators?" She nodded, grabbing her coat and purse.
"Not to worry Mr. Williams," she said as she pulled the door open once more. "Jack's been trying to chat me up for ages. I'll have those generators for you in no time!" Rhys grinned. If there was one thing his best friend could never pass up, it was a pretty face. Even if Emma already had a boyfriend she was devoted to in Newport, Jack would never pass up the chance to make her smile.
"Go easy on him Emma," Rhys chastened. "We might need Jack for more than just the generators," he said shaking his head at her evil smile. "Make sure you tell him and anyone else in the village you run into that we are holding an emergency meeting at the library tonight at 7:30Pm sharp." Emma nodded and with a wink headed out the door.
Rhys grabbed his coat and a scarf, before locking up the office and stepping out into the softly falling snow. Turning away from the office door, he made his way across the street and down the lane to Smith's Fix-it Shoppe. Glancing up, he spied the National Trust plaque on the side of the building, half covered in snow. They had been erected a few years back when the village was added to the list of historical places, and seeing them always gave him a sense of pride. Dusting off the snow laden sign, Smith's Telegraph And Radio Diagnostic Inspection Shoppe - Established 1851 came into view, and he smiled to himself remembering the stories his Tad used to tell about old man Smith's crazy assistant and his wacky inventions. As he stepped up to the shop door, he glanced skyward and caught a large snowflake in his palm. As it glinted off the streetlamps, he closed his eyes and breathed a Christmas wish that somehow everything would come together and that he would not be the first mayor in over three-hundred years to announce that the annual Seren Glen Christmas Eve Winter Fair was going to be canceled.