Secret Santa
Disclaimer:- Don't own them just borrowing!
Episode:- None
Pairing:- Nicola/Ollie
Rating:- M
Achieve:- http(:/) . /group/rebeccafrontlewisffarchive/
Summary:- "The key is in the word "secret" Teri, we're not telling you so not to quote Glen but fuck off!"
Author's Note:- Written for the "Secret Santa" challenge to write a fic involving Secret Santa! Rated for the usual TTOI things and some sexual content in the last chapter! Enjoy and reviews would be lovely.
"Jesus fuckin Christ this is supposed to be a government department not a fuckin Santa's grotto!" Malcolm shouted, getting out of the lift in the DoSAC offices and almost walking into the large Christmas tree that had miraculously appeared at the top of the stairs since his last visit.
"Don't be a fucking scrooge Malc even you must be able to find a tiny shred of excitement, in the hole where you heart used to be, for Christmas!" Ollie laughed glancing up from his desk as Nicola came out of her office rolling her eyes at Malcolm's reaction to the decorations.
"Yeah Malcolm where are we supposed to put the presents if we don't have a tree, you normally love the present part of the Christmas party it's the only time you crack a smile all year, when we are all giving you gifts." She sighed, leaning against the door frame. It was almost 5, she had been absolutely sure they were going to get out the door at a reasonable hour of the day without any hitches and now he was standing there staring at her like she was mad. This could never be good.
"Yeah well not this year. That's why I'm here. Tom has put a ban on presents he….."
"Excuse me? He's what?" Teri asked appearing to notice for the first time that there was something happening around her. "How can he ban presents? It's Christmas!"
"No shit Sherlock!" Malcolm snapped back handing a single sheet of paper to Nicola and waiting while she read it.
"He's a fucking joke, what business is it of his or anyone else's what we spend our own money on? I don't know about the rest of you but my Christmas gifts for you lot aren't taken out of the departmental budget and they sure as hell aren't claimed back on my fucking expenses!" She sighed passing the sheet around the others.
"Yeah we'll just because you're a fucking saint doesn't mean other minsters have been being so selfless so the new rule is departments have to either have no gift giving or a Secret Santa with an upper spending limit of twenty quid. Like it or fuckin lump it."
"Well we're not doing no gifts, doesn't he realise it's good for the team to know that we are working together and fucking think about each other as more than just fucking soulless robots who come into this fucking building, don't give a fuck about each other and walk back out again." Glen said firmly throwing the memo on his desk before grabbing a blank sheet of paper from the printer behind him and writing everyone's names on it before tearing it into strips. Folding them all he threw them into an empty coffee cup shaking it up and motioning for them all to come closer. "Pick a name out, if you get your own obviously put it back but otherwise don't tell anyone who you got. Nicola ladies first."
"Hello!" Teri interrupted sulkily growling in frustration as the others ignored her comment and Nicola reached into the cup pulling out a name.
"Ok I didn't get my own, we're fine." She smiled glancing at the name on the card and resisting the urge to celebrate immediately as Teri reached into the cup pulling out a name and opening it, showing everyone it was her own before putting it back and drawing again.
"Only fuckin you I swear woman even something as simple as pulling a name out of a fuckin hat has to be complicated!" Malcolm said quietly nudging aide Ollie as he tried to go next. "Fuck off Ollie age before fuckin incompetence it's my turn."
"Can I go now?" Ollie sighed reaching into the cup after Malcolm had picked a name then looking at his with a dry smile while Glen took the last name out and looked at it.
"Right it looks like we've all got names that aren't our own. How flexible is this limit thing Malc?" Glen asked as they started to disperse and Malcolm paused at the lift with a hallow laugh.
"It's fuckin not, if you're doing it then there have to be receipts filed after Christmas proving you didn't go over Tom's set limit. Good luck with that everyone!"
"Who did you both get?" Teri asked once he'd gone and Nicola had moved into her packing up ready to go home.
"Fuck off I'm not telling you!" Glen laughed, grabbing his coat off the back of the chair along with his briefcase and heading for the stairs as she turned to Ollie.
"The key is in the word "secret" Teri, we're not telling you so not to quote Glen but fuck off!" He replied sitting behind his desk and turning his attention to the computer as she stormed off in the direction of Nicola's office only to emerge a few minutes later in no better mood, clearly not having got any information from her either.
"Fine, well I'm not telling you lot who I got either but don't come running to me when you can't think what to buy!" She said sulkily as she swung her handbag over her shoulder and pushed the lift button before disappearing into it.
"I don't think she's happy." Nicola laughed as she came out of her office and stared at Ollie tilting her head slightly at the fact he wasn't making any move for home. "It's home time Ollie you don't have to stay in this fucking place any longer, go home, relax."
"When is she ever fucking happy and yeah, I just have a couple things to tidy up on your speech for the morning then I'll be out of here, you go, who knows you might actually make it back in time for the kids tea tonight."
"They'd all be in too much fucking shock to eat it if I did." Nicola laughed heading for the stairs with a final look back as he seemed completely engrossed in whatever he was doing telling her whatever it was it wasn't a speech. He could write the sort of speeches she had to give the next morning in the car on the way to the venue but he was right she should take advantage of getting home and a decent hour whatever was going on with him she could sort out in the morning.
"Night Mum, can you wake me before Elvis picks you up in the morning we have that field trip in the morning to the science museum so I want to wash my hair and have time to do my make-up properly!" Emily smiled, kissing Nicola gently on the cheek before nodding curtly at her father sitting on the other side of the sitting room engrossed in his laptop.
"Yeah no problem sweetie you realise though it's a school trip not a fashion parade?" Nicola laughed glancing up from her own computer as her oldest daughter paused at the sitting room door and shrugged.
"Doesn't mean I have to look like crap does it?"
"I suppose not, night honey sleep well. James I'm going to have a glass of wine do you want one?" Nicola asked once their daughter had left the room and they were finally alone for the night. It was common, on the rare evenings that they were both at home, for them to spend the entire night working on opposite sofa's and barely exchange two words. That didn't mean she didn't at least try to be civil though but as he shook his head without even glancing up she wondered why she bothered.
Pouring herself a large glass of white wine from the bottle she'd put in the fridge earlier she came back to her computer sitting down and trying to focus on the emails she was reading but finding her eyes constantly drawn back to the slip of paper she could see poking out between the paperwork beside her. She knew she should put it out of her head, there were four weeks till Christmas and she'd barely even started shopping but now that she had the name she'd hoped for she was finding it hard not to want to start the search for the perfect gift. Shaking her head to clear the myriad of ideas that were swimming around in it she was about to return to a tedious constituency email when her iPad buzzed beside her telling her she had a message on her personal email account. Abandoning the laptop for a second she opened the email program noting the email address with a confused smile before opening the message.
To:- ETEEMurray4
From:- secretsantamail
Subject:- Let the search begin
Only £20 to find the perfect present for the world's most perfect woman? Quite an ask but for you I'm sure I'll manage it.
You dedicated Secret Santa.
Staring at the message for a few minutes she felt her heart race a little as she glanced across the room, to where James was still going far too good a job of ignoring her, before hitting reply and smiling to herself. She had a feeling she wasn't the only one who had got the name they wanted from the draw and the thought set off a storm of butterflies in her stomach that she had long ago adapted to when there was even the hint of him in her life outside the office. She'd already known that the shopping was going to be fun but if he wanted to add a little playful edge to it that was something she could totally get behind and suddenly she was starting to think the PM's "Secret Santa" idea was one of the best he'd ever had.