Hello:) Well, the postage was a bit pricey so I hope this kind of makes up for not getting you lot anything for Christmas. As the title suggests it's loosely based on aspects of the film "It's a wonderful life", I own nothing besides my own characters, blah, blah.

Composed of 3 parts; other two are already written so will most likely be uploaded tomorrow. Hope you like.

Part one

It was that time of year again, no doubt about it. There was a light dusting of snow along the roofs and the roads of the village, the interior of the Woolpack was decked with wreaths and sprigs of holly everywhere and Paddy was busy putting up fairy lights along the guttering of Smithy cottage; trying and failing to cheerily whistle "stop the cavalry" through chattering teeth as he did so, preferring to freeze before he'd admit to needing something so girly as a jacket.

It was with a flicker of amusement that Aaron watched him, having caught sight of him on his way past. He wouldn't say it too loudly but he'd always enjoyed helping Paddy put up the Christmas decorations in the past. True, it'd taken a good lot of goading before he'd pretend to grudgingly give in to Paddy's belly-aching but in the end he'd always find his scowl slipping by the time the tree was up and the bad Christmas movie was turned on.

Just then Aaron noticed a wobble in Paddy's ladder as his foster father stretched upwards in order to untangle a knot in a particularly annoying length of lights. Just as he opened his mouth to call out a warning the ladder gave away from the wall, causing an unexpecting Paddy to drop heavily.

Luckily Paddy's flailing arms managed to firmly grip hold of the guttering, stopping his fall. The four foot fall would hardly have done much damage but all the same Paddy preferred to meet the ground in his own time rather than gravity's. His look of shocked relief quickly turned to one of annoyance as he heard the noise of familiar cackles behind him. Turning his head he snapped at his chuckling surrogate son "When you're done having a gawp will you kindly put the ladder back up?"

"Aw but why would I do that, Paddy?" Aaron snickered as he approached "You look just like an angel dangling there, really sets the Christmas mood!"

"Cut the wisecracks and put the flaming ladder back up!" Paddy snapped again; his arms starting to ache as he clung to the side of his house for dear life, guttering creaking threateningly. Finally taking pity on him Aaron repositioned the ladder, Paddy settling his feet on one of the rungs with a sigh of relief. Climbing back down he turned to face a still-smirking Aaron "Anyway Jacob Marley, what are you doing dragging your bad luck around these parts?"

"Charming! I'm out on a holly-picking spree- his lordship needs to bring some in for school." As if to prove his point he pulled some holly sprigs out of a plastic bag with a grimace "Of course he had to mention in a class full of townies that we have hedges full of them so muggins had to pull about twenty sprigs. I even have the scratches to prove it."

Paddy chuckled at his unimpressed expression "Look on the bright side; you're definitely in the polls for dad of the year now."

"Har dee har har."

"C'mon, where's your Christmas spirit?" Paddy chided gently, to which Aaron replied "That usually doesn't kick in until at least the twenty-fourth." He then smiled "Though it might just come a little earlier than usual this year; getting my bonus the week after next!"

"Nice one." Paddy nodded "Your Kay will be getting a proper spoiling this year!"

"Isn't he bloody spoilt all year round?" Aaron rolled his eyes with a grin "It's actually Jay I'm looking to treat this year."

"How so?"

"Well he's always said how much he'd like to fly with the Red Arrows, and we both know that costs a bit of bob so I've been saving up for this the past couple of years. With the bonus I'll finally be able to afford it, on top of everything Kalum's put in his Santa letter."

Paddy gave him an approving look "Is it too late for you to adopt me?"

"Get stuffed!" Aaron laughed. He couldn't deny his high spirits. He had a feeling that this Christmas was going to be the best one for his family yet, and after such a turbulent year they deserved it. Nothing else could possibly go wrong.

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"Here's Santa's little helper coming now!"

Kalum giggled at his daddy's wit as his dad came through the door laden with a bag of holly. Aaron scoffed "Funny now, I didn't see you running out to wrestle with a few prickly bushes!"

"Was too busy putting up the outdoor lights, or did you just figure our house had been turned into a runway while you were out?" Jackson replied smartly before tossing Aaron a box of decorations "Well c'mon then, the place isn't going to do itself!"

Just under two hours later Aaron and Kay were putting the finishing touches to the tree with Aaron raising their six year old to put the star on top when Aaron noticed something odd about Jay's jacket. Jackson, who was at the foot of the tree trying to locate a fractured bulb, seemed to have managed to rip a huge tear down the back of his good leather jacket.

Once Aaron had pointed it out Jackson immediately whipped it off for inspection before his face fell dismally "Ah bum! I knew I felt it catch on something today!"

With a heavy sigh he folded it up and tossed it on to the sofa "I'll chuck it out later. Imagine, I've had that jacket since I was twenty-one and not a single tear in it till today!"

"I think that's a sign that it's time for a new one." Aaron grinned.

Jackson scoffed "Between Christmas, your birthday and Kay's birthday methinks I won't be buying another until at least next May!"

Kalum watched on earnestly "Can you not fix it with stitches?"

"You can't stitch leather, baby." Jackson replied.

Kalum looked pensive for a few seconds before suggesting "I could write to Santa for a new one and pretend it's for me, because I know he doesn't give stuff to grown-ups."

Kay was less than pleased that his fool-proof plan was met by amused laughter. Noticing his put-out expression Jackson picked him up and gave him a kiss "That's really nice of you to offer, sweetheart, but I think Santa would get a bit suspicious if he was delivering a huge jacket to a little lad like you."

"'M not little!" Kay huffed but started smiling as Jackson pulled a face to match his huffy one. "Alright then, lanky! Anyway, what did you put on your list for Santa this year?"

It was with a smile that Aaron listened in while Kay elaborated; surprisingly it wasn't many things but everything was going to be affordable this year. Once Kay was tucked up in bed the two men curled up on the sofa. Both were tired but in high spirits in expectation of the weeks ahead; Jackson of course knew nothing about Aaron's plans but the thoughts of Christmas alone made him happy.

Of course, Aaron's thoughts were happy ones too. He wasn't much bothered about what gifts he received but he couldn't wait to spoil his boys. He wasn't a materialistic person but throughout his whole life he had constantly been dealt one bad hand after another and now that he was finally happy and sorted he wanted his family to have the best of everything for at least one day in the year; to make them even half as happy as they had made him. It was rare that he would have such a means to splash out on them so he was going to make the most of it.

"Penny for 'em."

Aaron was snapped out of his train of thought by his husband's remark at his pensive expression. He grinned "I'm just thinking; the three wise men couldn't have been that wise."

Jackson frowned in confusion "What makes you think that?"

"Well, they got lost didn't they?"

Jackson shook his head in fond disbelief "I really don't know what goes on in that head of yours!"

"You love me really." Aaron teased lightly.

"Unfortunately I do." Jackson sighed melodramatically before smiling as Aaron leant in for a kiss. As they lay together comfortably with the warmth of the fire and the dim glow of the tree setting a relaxing atmosphere in the room both couldn't help but feel an enormous sense of ease and at peace with the world.

Little expecting that their cosy little evening was being observed from somewhere in the other world.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Many, many far-off dimensions away three unearthly beings stood observing the couple. While two, a male and a female, stood with rather grave expressions at the vision the third, another male who was a good few centuries younger than the other two, sported a look of confusion.

Once the vision had ended the female let out a mournful sigh while the eldest male shook his head grievously "Poor, poor man."

The youngest still couldn't fathom what was troubling his elders, or what their reason was for calling him here. The three had just experienced a joint vision of the life of a man the two elders seemed eager for him to learn about, Aaron Livesy. Or Walsh, as he was now known.

Malachai had been educated enough in his few millennia of divine purpose to know not to ask questions before trying to work out the problem for himself but as this particular vision came to an end he admittedly was stumped.

Fair enough, at the beginning of the "show" as he liked to call it he had felt some form of empathy towards the young lad who had been "kicked to the curb" to use the human phrase pretty much from the beginning; an absent mother, a useless father, a non-existent childhood. By the time the scenery switched to the man's teenage years Malachai had lost a good bit of his sympathetic feelings, seeing the neglected young boy turn into a hot-headed, bad-mannered yob. But being a creature of divine talents Malachai could see even through visions of the past the innermost feelings, dreams and longings of an individual. In this particular man he could see anger, most definitely, but also sadness, loneliness, and above all feelings of neglect. This part was so simple a human could work it out; the brutish front was little more than a defence mechanism for a lad let down and hurt his whole life.

Malachai, who knew how amateur a mistake it was to judge humans on expression alone, focused more on the feelings of this young man than anything else. For much of his teenage years there was a repetitive pattern of emotions; anger, neglect, et cetera. But suddenly by the time of the man's eighteenth year some new emotions were emerging- no, Malachai had almost slipped on that one- emotions that had been long-suppressed had come to the surface namely confusion, uncertainty and some form of…. longing.

At first Malachai wasn't too certain if he had imagined the latter emotion, it was so faint, but as time ticked on he was beginning to sense it more and more. Also amongst this were panic, nervousness and occasionally anger, which the young spiritual being was less than surprised to see. But gradually, ever so gradually Malachai was getting the steady sense of …. happiness?

Yes, yes happiness was definitely there. A sort of uncertain, hesitant happiness but Malachai could definitely feel it. After so many cold and distant emotions this bleak streak came as a form of relief for the celestial male. More and more this sense of happiness and well-being seemed to increase; sometimes mixed with annoyance, sometimes rage and Malachai could've sworn he'd felt heartbreak in there somewhere but overall the happiness prevailed until finally Malachai could feel no more intense negative emotions. Instead he was admittedly shocked to discover that a lot of these bad feelings had been replaced by one particular emotion- love.

Being what he was, young Malachai along with the rest of his unearthly kin did not view or perceive love in such a way as the inhabitants of Earth. For them it was more of a natural force amongst the living, one of much strength, even stronger than what humans call "gravity". In fact they deemed it to be quite possibly one of the strongest forces in existence, if not the most.

They found certain groups of humans funny in their perception of "the force". There were ones who believed the force did not apply to two people of different skin pigments for example. Others denied the existence of the force between two humans who didn't share the same views of how the creator of heaven and earth worked. But one view which had prolonged the previous two was the idea that the force could not possibly be present between a pair of humans who both shared the same gender of their species.

Those of unearthly power though patient found it difficult at times to understand humanity's ability to be so, for want of a better word, stupid. Surely if a force so inferior to love such as gravity was unbiased in its purpose and unrejectable to mankind then the force of love was ten times more so.

Concerning young Livesy-turned-Walsh Malachai was able to recognise the different forms of the force, mainly romantic and later paternal. Of course while his main focus had been on these emotions he had also been taking note of the events surrounding them. Once the vision had faded to black he confessed that he found it difficult to see why his elders were so grim;

"He's had a bit of a hard start in life, alright. That's plain to see. But he's happy now, blissfully content. I can feel it. Why does he trouble you?"

Judith, an elder heavenly guardian with more than ten millennia under her belt but with the appearance of a human girl of twenty turned to meet his questioning look "You saw also the trials he experienced in the past Earth year?"

Malachai nodded "That business with the child's father. A rather tough year."

"It has." Judith agreed before returning her gaze forwards "Which is why we now must intervene."

Malachai's eyes widened in astonishment "But why do we need to? You saw him- he's happy!"

"The trouble with humans is that their happiness is usually only temporary." Zachary, the other elder tutted disapprovingly "As we speak destiny is taking a rather disappointing turn on Mr Walsh, one of which he may need our assistance in helping overcome later on."

Malachai couldn't believe this "But why him? Granted, his life hasn't been a bed of roses and even now it takes a couple of cruel turns on him now and again but for the most part he's perfectly set. Job, home, family, the lot!"

"We did not call you here to witness a rerun of Mr Walsh's lifetime for the sake of amusement, Malachai. All will make more sense to you in time. Do not forget that our powers do exceed yours in ways you've yet to master."

This wasn't a boast, merely a fact. Being little more than an adolescent in the elders' eyes, Malachai could not yet summon the ability to read images or emotions of the future.

Just then the young spirit realised something about Judith's sentence "In time?... hold on, you can't honestly be suggesting that I go to Earth?"

An odd twitch of Zachary's mouth told Malachai that he was attempting to suppress a smile. "We are, along with brief use of our powers."

As tempting as that sounded Malachai still argued "You are sending me on a mission of which I have no idea about to save a man who doesn't need saving? What sort of-"

"It's that time of the human year, Malachai." Judith interrupted "Christmas, Hanukkah, whatever name different humans give it. It's the one time when our worlds are closest together, a time of more goodwill and mercy amongst mankind. Therefore we can afford to offer more mercy to those humans who may just require a touch of it at this time."

Malachai still didn't look happy. However his protest was stalled by Zachary's addition of "Also, think of how such an act would affect your promotion."

At this Malachai's eyes lit up "You mean I'll finally get my wings?"

Judith and Zachary shared a subtle, knowing glance at the badly hidden enthusiasm in Malachai's voice. A human could've seen that wild horses wouldn't stop him from going now.

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It was finally the week of the Big Day.

On the morning of the twenty-second Aaron stood shaving at the bathroom sink, a big smile on his face. He'd received an unexpected phone call from the garage in Hotten that morning, telling him that the boss needed to see him. Excited at the prospect of getting his raise just in time for Christmas Aaron couldn't stop grinning like an idiot. His boss, Pat, was a diamond so any news he had for him had to be good news.

As Jackson came into their bedroom he caught sight of his grinning partner in their en suite and approached with a smile of his own "Someone's happy!"

Aaron shrugged "Tis the season to be jolly and all that crap. Plus one of the lads called from work; boss man wants to see me."

"Oh?" to Aaron's surprise Jackson didn't sound as enthused as he should've been. "Something wrong?"

"No, no. Is it Pat or Andrew who wants to see you?"

Aaron froze temporarily; while his boss was mint Pat's advisor was a bit of a prick, for lack of a better word. For whatever reason Pat's second-in-charge Andrew didn't see eye to eye with Aaron and the further apart they were the better as far as Aaron was concerned. Still, Pat was the headman over all so Aaron doubted he'd let such a twerp run one of his workers over.

With his face half-shaven Aaron turned to face his husband, not letting the confident smile slip from his face "I'm sure it'll be Pat. Even if it's not I could eat a silly little prat like Andrew for breakfast any day, you know that."

"I know." Jackson linked his arms loosely around Aaron's waist "Just don't let him bug you, ok? From what you've told me he can be a sly little git."

Aaron looked up at his husband's face and nodded "I won't." As though to seal this promise he leaned in to share a kiss, getting some shaving cream on Jay's face in the process causing Jackson to chuckle and break away. Aaron looked amused "You look a bit like Father Christmas now."

"Mmm." Jackson smirked mischievously "Well then the question has to be asked; are you naughty or nice?"

Aaron raised an eyebrow coyly "I can be whichever one you prefer…"

Their moment was broken just then by calls of "Dad! Daddy!"

Chuckling and sharing a quick final kiss they broke apart, Jackson headed downstairs while Aaron finished off shaving. Once presentable he too descended the stairs where he found his husband and son waiting patiently "What's up?" he addressed Jackson.

"Beats me, he wanted to wait until you were here too."

Now that he had both of their attentions Kay pulled out what looked two small packages which looked like they had been wrapped in the dark. Still this did nothing to sway his parents delight "Aw thank you sweetheart! You really shouldn't have!"

But before Jackson could place them under the tree Kay had hurriedly exclaimed "You can open them now!" Both men looked surprised "Should we not leave them until Christmas, mate?"

"No, open them now." Kalum insisted eagerly. Aaron sighed "Ok buddy, but this doesn't mean you get to open your presents early just so you know!"

"I know." Kay replied somewhat impatiently while the presents were retrieved. Ripping open the paper both his dads found identical presents in the form of brown wooden bead bracelets.

"We made them in school." Kalum explained "Teacher calls them Angel bracelets. She said that some people are sad at Christmas because they aren't very lucky but these bracelets are supposed to keep you lucky. That's why you have to open them now."

Both of his parents were touched by the sentiment. Jackson scooped him up into his arms for a hug "Thank you, baby. I'm sure we'll have the best luck in the world with these!"

Aaron slipped his own on and gave his son a kiss "Thanks, buddy. We love them!"

Just then he noticed the time "Better get going, I'll see you two later." "Best of luck, babe." Jackson smiled as Aaron leant in to give both of them a kiss goodbye. "If I didn't have it before I'll definitely have it now!" Aaron chuckled as he ruffled Kay's sandy hair.

Jackson stood at the doorway with Kalum in his arms and they waved Aaron off as he pulled out of the driveway. He was still smiling to himself as he drove out of the village; his family meant the absolute world to him and even now he couldn't believe how lucky he was to have them.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Aaron arrived at the door of the office and rapped the door smartly before entering; he was nervous to be honest, but mostly excited. After all he had nothing to worry ab-

His heart sank slightly as he opened the door to find a thin, lanky figure sat at the desk of Pat Martin. Looking past his glasses down his long nose at Aaron, Andrew McKinnon beckoned stiffly "Have a seat, Aaron."

Dark mood already descending upon him Aaron replied "Thank you, Andrew."

Andrew glowered at Aaron's deliberate informal response as he took his seat opposite his boss' second in command. Aaron couldn't care less; he only used formalities for those worthy of his respect. Aaron Walsh didn't kowtow to anyone.

"I expect you know why you're here."

Shifting slightly in his seat Aaron grunted "It's about my bonus isn't it?"

"Well yes, it does concern that."

Something about the tone of McKinnon's voice made Aaron feel uneasy. Still he mentally told himself that it was nothing as he forced himself to reply smoothly "Well, what about it?"

McKinnon sighed heavily as though deeply troubled by what he had to say and clasped his hands as he sat up straight at the desk with an air of importance "I'm afraid you won't be receiving it this year."

Aaron felt as though the roof had caved in on him as he exclaimed with a mixture of shock and anger "WHAT? Why the hell not?"

McKinnon frowned as though disapproving of Aaron's tone though Aaron would bet anything that he was secretly enjoying this "Wages are scarce this year Aaron, I trust you know that. We can't afford to give everyone the same amount of bonuses. A sacrifice must be made."

"But why me? I've been bloody working here for over a year and I'm better trained than half of the crew in that garage! Pat told me just last week that if any worker was suited to succeed him should he drop dead tomorrow it would be me, surely that counts for something of my working efforts throughout the year!" Aaron didn't care how big-headed that might sound as his fury took over.

The prat in the suit nodded his head slowly in mock sympathy "Ah yes, Pat is a nice man. Always knows how to boost self-esteem."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Aaron growled through gritted teeth.

McKinnon looked at him oddly as though he were stupid. "Aaron, surely you know that it will never be possible for you to succeed Pat. My apologies for sounding so blunt, but in a well-established company such as this individuals with criminal records do not inherit the top spot."

Had his final sentence not stunned Aaron so horribly deeply he would have grabbed the smug idiot by the lapels and hauled him across the desk. "Criminal record? I did a bit of petty theft, nothing more extravagant than a fucking bike! I was a fucking kid!" He was beginning to see red as he stood up and placed his hands down firmly on the desk so as to look eye to eye with the dangerously calm man in front of him "I want to speak to Pat! This is bullshit!"

"Pat is currently on a ski holiday." McKinnon replied coolly "Which means I call the shots while he's away. Right now I would like you to leave. Good day, Mr Walsh."

But Aaron couldn't just let this go "I'm not leaving until I get the money I worked my arse off all year for!"

"Should you not leave at once Mr Walsh the only money you shall be taking away with you is a redundancy packet." McKinnon's tone was calm, but dangerously so. It was the voice of someone you didn't mess with.

Aaron knew this, which was why he closed his mouth before anything else came out that he'd end up regretting. Noting that he had made a checkmate, McKinnon did his infuriating little nod once more before returning his attention to a sheet full of statistics "Good day, Mr Walsh."

Just as an enraged Aaron nearly ripped the door off its hinges as he made to storm out he heard the same subtly smug voice behind him once more "Oh, and Aaron?"

Aaron paused briefly with his back to the speaker.

"Speaking of your criminal record, try to calm down before you greet that partner of yours at home ok? Wouldn't do to have a repeated offence added to the record out of a little momentary anger."

It took Aaron a moment to realise what he was referring to; once he did he swung back around with his eyes flashing and almost trembling with rage "How dar-"

He stopped before he could give the rat an excuse to dismiss him altogether. Still shaking violently with outrage he forced himself to turn away once more and leave the smirking bastard to his own devices.

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How he managed to drive home without colliding with something or someone was a miracle in itself. Nowadays it was rare that he should become so vexed but McKinnon had pushed him well over his limit.

Nevertheless he had taken the slimeball's advice and attempted to calm down considerably before he came home. Regardless of what that prick was suggesting he'd never raise his hand to Jackson. Never. B ut all the same he didn't want his foul mood to affect either Jay or Kalum. He tried steadying himself by mentally saying it didn't matter, he'd still be able to afford most things with the wage he had. It was difficult but he managed to harness in most of his fury by the time he'd entered the village and was moderately mellow by the time he reached his driveway.

This disintegrated in a flash as he saw his husband tearing out through their front door in a panicked state "Thank God you're back!"

"Why what's wrong? Where's Kalum? Is he ok?" Aaron began panicking; after all they'd been through this year surely destiny wasn't going to be so cruel to them again!

"He's inside, he's fine! It's your mum; she's been in a car accident!"

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Less than an hour later the two men stood by a hospital bed. Kay had been left with his nana Hazel while they'd raced to Hotten, met by a doctor upon arrival.

Chas' injuries weren't too serious thankfully. The other car had skidded and collided with the right side of her car; fortunately its speed hadn't been too high upon the point of collision, leaving Chas with a broken right arm and a couple of busted ribs but these would heal in time. Until then however Chas was off work.

But it wasn't this that worried her "The police say the driver wasn't insured; it's going to cost a small fortune to pay this out!" This upset her; between Christmas and saving up for a new house she had very little to spare.

Aaron knew this and automatically proposed "We'll help you out, mum! Won't we Jay?"

"Of course we will!" Jackson wholly agreed, pulling out the check book.

"You most certainly won't! Christmas is the most bloody expensive time of the year and I'm not having you wasting your hard-earned-"

"No excuses! We're not seeing you in debt over Christmas either!"

Chas chose that moment to swipe across her eyes, acting as though rubbing away an eyelash "Thank you, my wonderful sons!"

"Don't be soft." Aaron chuckled though inside his stomach had turned to ice. Of course he had no qualms at all about helping his mother, but there went another few hundred. He desperately hoped his bad luck would end here.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxxoxx

The next day came and brought Christmas Eve with it, so naturally there was great excitement throughout the Walsh household. Well, for two of them at least. Aaron, who hadn't slept too well the night before, was rather quiet and troubled, sitting and mulling over his thoughts while his partner and son busied themselves getting the house set for the family party they were throwing later on.

Another bloody thing we can't afford Aaron thought bitterly. He was temporarily interrupted in his thinking by his partner "Hey babe, would you mind running to get some more mulled wine? Cain must've had a lot more than a glass that time he was here!"

It would give him more time alone with his thoughts and would save them the pain of looking at his grumpy face so Aaron didn't see why not. Rising to his feet and throwing his jacket on he was stopped briefly by a hand on his arm. "I know how disappointed you are about the bonus, babe, but don't let it annoy you. We're fine, everything's sorted financially and it's Christmas tomorrow. Please don't be upset."

Aaron forced a smile "I'm not. Really." He gave his partner a quick kiss "Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

"Ok." But Jackson didn't sound too sure as his husband walked out the door.

As luck would have it, David's was out of mulled wine so Aaron phoned Jay to let him know he was going to Hotten. However his mood had ceased to improve as he made his way there and picked up the wine, to the point where he found himself unable to pass the inviting lit-up windows of a corner pub. One drink wouldn't put him over the limit, and the fact that being in the spirit of Christmas all first drinks were on the house made it extra attractive.

Though the alcohol failed to ease his woes it did make him feel a little better knowing that at least this wouldn't cost him anything. While he sipped he contemplated the situation; Kalum was pretty much sorted with his presents even though Aaron would've liked to have bought a few more for him. It wasn't as though he had nothing for Jackson either, he had picked up a few nice bits for him but the Red Arrows had always been Jackson's dream.

Calculating numbers in his head he was amazed to find that should he only be able to find sixty pound more he could afford it, and that was if he all but emptied his personal savings. The question was where could he get it? After all he didn't like the idea of asking someone for a loan around this time of the year.

His thoughts were interrupted by a gruff voice beside him "Sorry for disturbing you mate, but would you mind telling me where you got that jacket? Been looking for a decent one for ages."

Aaron's head snapped up as he turned to look at a man who had appeared at his elbow as though out of thin air. He was probably around the same age as Aaron, with brown hair and curious grey eyes. Aaron looked down at his black leather jacket with a slight frown as he tried to remember where he'd bought it. "Sorry mate, I've had it that long I can't remember." He sighed.

Just then inspiration hit like a lightning bolt. It was a crazy idea, desperate in fact, but then again he was desperate. Clearing his throat he asked "How much do you like it, mate?"

"I'd say a lot. It's stylish yet not fussy, just what I'm looking for."

"If it was in a shop would you willingly pay, say, ninety pound for it?"

"I guess I would."

At that Aaron whipped it off him and turned it from side to side to display its quality "How about I sell it to you for say, seventy?"

The man's eyes widened incredulously "You're not serious?"

"I am. It's good quality material, great nick as well. I paid almost double that for it."

The bloke seemed to consider this, eyes scanning the garment for possible errors "Is it real leather?"

"Have you got a lighter?"

The man did. Taking hold of it and clicking it Aaron ran its flame up and down the sleeve. "See? It's the real McCoy. Fancy trying it on?"

The bloke slipped it on and thankfully it fit him as well as it fit Aaron. After a few seconds of testing how it felt on the man seemed satisfied "Alright, as odd as it seems I'll take it. Seventy you wanted, wasn't it?"

Aaron really couldn't believe his luck as he with almost trembling hands took the cash off the stranger and tried to keep a casual voice as he thanked him before leaving the pub quickly, just in case he changed his mind. The walk back to the car was nippy without his jacket but his heart felt warm, warmer than it had felt these past two days.

He was still in disbelief as he drove homewards. So distracted was he that he nearly took a heart attack as he heard a loud bang coming from the rear of the car. Pulling into a nearby secluded area, which overlooked a small wooded area with a frozen over lake, Aaron got out to look at that damage. It was with a sigh of relief that he found it to simply be a flat tyre which could easily be replaced by the spare in the boot. Perhaps his luck was changing.

As he pulled the spare out he looked up to the sky and squinted; it was starting to darken. He didn't want Jay worrying over what was taking him so long, especially as this could take a while. He'd understand, all it would take was a quick call and-

Aaron felt himself freeze and his stomach drop as his hand reached automatically for the pocket in which he kept his phone and wallet, only to brush his fingers off the material of his thin shirt.

His jacket. Along with his phone, wallet and bank card.

Gone.

This proved too much for Aaron, who felt his last nerve snap. Shaking hands came up to clasp the sides of his head as he let out an agitated scream towards the night sky. Once his voice had died out he let his hands drop and as they did so he caught sight of the Angel bracelet, which only fuelled his anger. Angels, luck; it was bullshit all of it! Wrenching the bracelet off his wrist in anger he brought his hand back and flung it as far as possible.

Despite his fury he felt regret almost as soon as the object left his hand. It was after all Kalum's present to him which he had made himself, regardless of whether it was lucky or not. With a sad sigh Aaron started off in the direction of its travel, hoping to be able to find it before it got too dark to see.

Fortunately it didn't take too long to find it as it was lying in an easily visible spot. Less fortunate was the fact that it had landed in the middle of the frozen lake.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Had it been anyone else but Kay Aaron wouldn't have even considered it. But despite his better judgement he found himself edging slowly across the slippery, fragile surface of the lake towards the bracelet in the middle; his feet cautiously seeking out the thickest possible areas to stand on.

After many near heart failures due to the sounds of crackling beneath him, Aaron had reached his destination. With triumphant glee he bent slowly to pick up the bracelet.

Then with a horrifying, sickening crack he felt the surface beneath him give away.

Making the dire mistake of opening his mouth to yelp instinctively at the feeling of unbelievable coldness he had never felt before he had swallowed a load of freezing lake water. As he pushed himself to the surface he coughed and spluttered madly as he frantically tried to grip hold of the edge of the ice to no avail as his grip kept slipping. Each attempt at hauling himself back onto the surface ended in him slipping back under the cold icy surface until he eventually exhausted himself. As he desperately tried clinging to the slippery edge he was convinced that this was the end. If not by drowning, then the freezing cold would do it slowly. He closed his eyes as tears began to form; his only thought being that he was never going to see his beloved husband or child again….

Suddenly his eyes snapped back open in shock as he felt two hands suddenly grip his upper arms and haul him out of the cold water with incredible strength. Finding himself suddenly lying flat on his back on a hard, stable surface he shivered as the evening air hit his soaked clothes.

Pushing himself up slightly his eyes widened as he saw that he was once more on dry land, though it should have been impossible to have gotten from where he was to here in such a short time, especially as he'd no recollection of being carried.

"Bit late in the year for swimming, wouldn't you think?"

Aaron sat bolt upright and snapped his head around to look at his saviour. Though the light was dimming fast he was able to make out the figure of what looked to be a young man, probably no more than nineteen or twenty. He was tall and skinny, dressed casually in a thin jumper and jeans though he didn't seem to feel the cold. His hair was cut short and an unusual silvery colour and eyes of a similar shade. He was standing with his hands in his jeans pocket, casually observing Aaron as he would a football game.

Of all the things Aaron felt he should say to the young man who had saved his life he could only stammer one thing "Who are you?"

The strange young man smiled brightly "Call me Malachai."

….TBC