Thanks everyone for reading this. Now it's time for the story to really start. Enjoy.

5 weeks to Christmas

Dean was hectically searching through the drawers of the apartment he shared with his girlfriend Lisa. His keys, his wallet everything seemed to hide somewhere, now that he was already late for his friends' wedding.

"It's just around the corner. You'll make it," Lisa called from the bedroom where she would stay, sick as she said she was. He put on his jacket, not his usual leather jacket but a suit jacket, and then went over to her to kiss her forehead.

"I love you," he told her. "Even when you're sick and look disgusting."

"I know," she answered with a smile. "No go." She gave him a small push and he finally went out the door to get to the church.

He made it there still in time to see the pastor proclaim Chuck and Becky husband and wife now and he witnessed the surprise, Raphael, Chuck's best friend had planned for them. As the couple started to walk back out of the church and everyone was smiling and applauding them a choir suddenly appeared on the gallery, followed by a singer who performed 'All you need is love'.

After a moment a couple of musicians, who had been sitting in the audience stood up and started playing along with the singers. There were flutes, trumpets, trombones, strings, even a guitar in the pulpit. It was a beautiful surprise and everybody smiled and laughed joyfully, together with the newlyweds.

After the ceremony Dean decided to go home briefly before the reception started, to check on Lisa and he met his half-brother Adam there.

"Hello. What the hell are you doing here," he greeted him in surprise.

"Oh, I just wanted to borrow some old CD's," Adam replied and Dean let it go, assuming that Lisa must have let him in so he could find the classic rock CD's. He used the opportunity to talk to Adam about their father's birthday, suggesting they'd all go out together.

"I'll have to ask Sam still, but I think he'll agree," he finished waiting for his brother's answer.

"Sounds fine. A bit boring but fine," Adam said, shifting on his feet a little nervously as if he couldn't wait for Dean to leave again.

"Hurry up big boy! I'm naked and I want you at least twice before Dean gets home." Lisa suddenly called from the bedroom, causing both men to awkwardly look at each other. One of them feeling betrayed and the other one feeling caught. Dean left the apartment for the moment, hoping for both Adam and Lisa to be gone by the time he returned.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered as he swiftly walked down the street, too agitated to even take his car, his beautiful American muscle car, a black 1967 Chevrolet Impala.

He didn't really want to go to the reception anymore now, so he decided to just pop in quickly, congratulate the happy couple and then leave again. When he noticed Raphael filming the dancing Becky and Chuck though, he realized that he wasn't the only one with a broken heart there. Raphael focused only on Becky, following her every step. He was clearly in love with his best friend's wife.

Balthazar was sitting at his desk, staring at his computer screen. In just a little bit he would have to attend his wife's funeral and he needed someone to talk to. He called his best friend Ellen, the only person he could really talk to but unfortunately she was busy. He could hear her kids in the background, wanting to tell their Mom something very important.

There was nothing else he could do now so he and his stepson Ben went to the funeral. With a huge photo of her in the background, Balthazar stepped up in front of the crowd to say his final goodbyes to his wife.

"Jo, my darling wife and Ben's darling mother, and I had a lot of time to prepare for this moment," he started. He looked into the sad faces of the grieving crowd as he continued to talk about her and some of the things she'd told him when she knew she would pass away soon. Seeing Ellen's familiar face there gave him the strength to continue, strength he also needed for Ben, who had just lost his mother.

"So she's going to say her final farewell to you not through me but, inevitably, ever so coolly, through the immortal genius of the Bay City Rollers," he finished his speech, struggling to keep the tears from falling as the first notes of 'Bye Bye Baby' started to fill the room, accompanied by a slide show of photos, showing Jo's life. As he carried her coffin outside together with a few other men he could hardly keep from crying anymore.

Gabriel was leaving the limousine, looking around at the audience that had gathered to witness the new Prime Minister enter the building of No. 10, Downing Street. He waved briefly before going inside to meet his new household staff. Meg was there to make introductions and show him around a little and he was grateful for her presence.

"This is Azazel, he's in charge," she told Gabriel when they stopped in front of the first staff member, a grey-haired men. They shook hands and Gabriel moved on to the woman standing next in line.

"This is Missouri," Meg said.

"Good morning, Missouri," Gabriel greeted her and the woman informed him that she would be his housekeeper. Gabriel assured her that without a wife and kids there wouldn't be much work for her and she smiled at him until he moved on to the young and very tall man who was the last in the line for introductions.

"This is Sam. He's an intern and he's knew, like you," Meg said and then waited for them to shake hands.

"Hello, Sam," Gabriel said when he took his hand.

"Hello, Gabriel. I mean, sir," the young man replied, obviously nervous at meeting the most powerful man in the country. "Shit, I can't believe I've just said that," he added, a slight blush creeping into his cheeks. "And now I've gone and said 'shit'. Twice. I'm so sorry, sir," he apologized, blushing some more.

"It's fine. You could've said 'fuck' and we'd have been in real trouble," Gabriel replied lightly, trying to make him less uncomfortable.

"Thank you, sir," Sam said relieved. "I had a premonition I was gonna fuck up on my first day." His face showed shock as he realized what he had just said and he clapped his hand over his mouth as Gabriel continued to smile. Somehow he liked the poor fellow.

"Right, I'll go get my things and then let's fix the country, shall we?" Meg interrupted their moment and after another nod at Sam, Gabriel followed her down the corridor to start his work as Prime Minister. Halfway along the hallway he stopped and turned around once more, looking at his new staff talking to each other and Sam standing awkwardly still in the same spot, not quite knowing what to do.

Gabriel then continued after Meg who lead him to his office. Once more he looked back over his shoulder before he had to greet some more people waiting for him. He told them he'd be in his office and sighed as he closed the door behind him.

"Oh no. That's so inconvenient." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a chocolate bar. Just what he needed now to calm his nerves.

At the office where she worked, Ruby entered her boss Zachariah's office to tell him that the employee he wanted to see was there now. Zachariah used the chance to ask her how she was settling in and if she was learning who to avoid.

"Absolutely," Ruby answered with a bright smile only for him. But before she had more time to talk to him, flirt with him, Jess, the employee he wanted to see joined them and Ruby returned to her desk. She turned on the radio and listened to some new Christmas song that was playing. It was a Christmassy remake of 'Love is all around' and she quite liked it and turned the volume up until Jess left Zachariah's office and asked her to turn it down again when her phone rang.

Zachariah watched the comings and goings in the office from his window, while he talked to his wife Ellen. He especially watched Ruby, though he wasn't quite ready to admit that to himself yet. He listened to Ellen talking about their kids and that they got roles in their school's nativity play on Christmas eve.

"Second lobster, can you believe that?" she asked and he laughed a little.

"There was more than one lobster present at the birth of baby Jesus?" he wanted to know, wondering what kind of play that would be.

"That's exactly what I said," Ellen answered. "And do you know what our daughter said to that?"

Zachariah shook his head, for the moment forgetting that she couldn't see him, but it didn't matter because she was already answering anyway.

"She said : duh. Can you believe it?" And they both laughed and then finished their conversation to get back to their work.

Meanwhile Bobby and Crowley were at a radio station, listening to Bobby's song being played while they waited for Bobby to be interviewed.

"Bobby, welcome back to the airwaves," the interviewer, Ash, greeted him. "New Christmas single, cover of 'Love is all around'," he introduced the artist who was in the studio with him.

"Except we changed the word 'love' to 'Christmas'," Bobby added to make sure everyone knew what they were talking about.

"Yes. Is that an important message to you?" Ash wanted to know.

Bobby snorted. "Not really, Ash. Christmas is a time for people with someone they love in their lives."

"And that's not you?"

"That's not me, Ash. When I was young and successful, I was greedy and foolish and now I'm left with no one, wrinkled and alone," Bobby explained, laughing an unhappy laugh after his statement.

Ash was surprised to actually get an honest answer. But then this man sitting across the desk from him didn't look like a young, glamorous rock star. He had lived and he had made experiences and as he was sitting there with his flannel shirt, his trucker hat and bearded face, he seemed like a real person, struggling to get back on top but not willing to sell his soul for it.

But as their conversation continued and they were actually making some jokes and having fun with the interview, Crowley was not a very happy manager. He was trying so hard, always dressed well in his black suit that made him look distinguished and gave him a slight demonic edge as he liked to believe. And then Bobby had to go and ruin the interview with his brutal honesty. He sighed and let his head fall back, hoping for the best.

Bobby did manage to advertise his record, though in his own way. "Wouldn't it be great if this years Christmas number one wasn't some smug teenager but an old ex-alcoholic searching for a comeback at any price?"

He continued to talk about his record and his manager Crowley, and he used so many swear words that even the interviewer, Ash, didn't know what to say anymore. He quickly helped himself by playing the record and thereby ending the interview.

Bobby turned to look at Crowley and gave him the thumbs up and the 'Victory' sign as the song started to play and Crowley didn't know what to do anymore, so he just shook his head and then covered his face with his palm. It had been a disastrous interview.