A/N Thank you to those who have reviewed, we are honoured. Truely, it means a lot.

It is quite hard to have a piece to upload each day (especially at this time of year) when Chloe and I have to check back to each other and marry our ideas together. Boy we are having fun. Chloe's muses are enjoying it too.

Poor Chloe however has had complete computer melt down and is prostituting herself for favours to use other peoples. Then the silly darling tried surfing down some stairs on a boogie board and injured herself. The perils, boys and girls of too much alcohol during the festive season. We make these mistakes people, so you don't have to make them yourself. Okay, enough sillyness. On with the show.

A little light fluff now to carry you through until Xmas day.

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Xmas Eve.

Ianto opened the door of his flat as quietly as he could, but it was hard with his hands full. The milk was threatening to slide out from under his arm and his precious box was in danger of toppling to the floor. Even so, he still took the time to stand and listen. When he couldn't hear any sign of movement he heaved a sigh and stepped inside.

He couldn't hear anything. That meant one of two things. Either there was no one there, or there was and he was still asleep. The fact that the someone in question was Jack and the time was nearly 10.30 am suggested that the former was the reason for the lack of sound.

He carefully lowered the box to the floor and made his way into the kitchen to put his groceries away. Surprisingly there was no sign that Jack had made himself breakfast before leaving. Jack couldn't run without a full stomach and usually if left to himself he would use nearly every utensil and implement in a kitchen just making toast. Ianto was a little concerned. He hoped like hell there was no emergency. He couldn't find his phone this morning so if something had happened he had no idea. Thinking on that he made his way over to the landline and wasn't in the slightest bit surprised to see the light indicating a message received was blinking. Shit.

He shoved the milk and the chicken in the fridge then picked up the phone. The message was from Owen and left him really perplexed. Where the hell, Owen wanted to know, were he and Jack? Was everything alright? He'd seen the CCTV footage from the Mermaid Dock last night and was really concerned that neither of them had either turned up for work or phoned in. They'd found his mobile on the dock. (So that's where it is.) Could he please ring when he got this message.

Ianto rang. He got Tosh. Owen and Gwen were out chasing down rift activity that had disrupted a nativity play at a nursery school. Apparently the baby Jesus had got up and walked out of the performance. It had then eaten the entire buffet set out for the parents, including the table and the tea urn, and escaped via a window. There were apparently, Tosh chortled, rather a lot of upset parents. The children just thought it was a new miracle for Christmas.

Oh, and no, Jack hadn't come in.

Shit. Where was he?

Feeling slightly silly for even thinking it might be possible Ianto went down the passageway and checked his bedroom. He stood in the door completely gobsmacked as he stared at his own Christmas miracle. Jack was sound asleep sprawled across his bed. Incredibly he'd been asleep for at least ten hours. Ianto had known he'd been exhausted, was fairly sure he hadn't slept at all since roughly December the first, but even so… This much sleep from Jack was unprecedented. Feeling a huge lump in his throat he tiptoed back out and shut the door.

Back in the kitchen he called Tosh back and told her that Jack was safe and that they were both taking a couple of days off. He was really sorry if that was going to impact on anyone's Christmas plans, but if they'd seen the CCTV footage from last night they must realise that Jack really needed a break. 'Do you know what's been wrong now?' Tosh asked.

'Yes I do,' Ianto told her. 'And I'm going to do my best to make it better.'

'I'll tell the others,' Tosh said. 'Are you all right? Do you need anything?'

Ianto smiled, touched. 'Yes, I'm all right. And all we really need is some time. Thank you sweetheart.'

'Okay. You have a happy Christmas.'

'You too.'

Ianto finished putting his shopping away. He wondered what Jack would say when he realised he'd just relieved them of duty for a few days. He'd probably be delighted that Ianto wouldn't be in harm's way for a few days. He'd be furious that he'd stopped him going to work as well. Ianto grinned. He might have to cuff him to the bed to keep him here.

Humming to himself he went into the lounge and looked at the large lump of greenery he'd bought that morning. He'd told his ten year old neighbour weeks ago that he'd buy a tree to support his scout group fundraiser but he'd forgotten all about it until the knock on his door at 7.30 this morning. He'd been more than a little surprised that Jack hadn't woken up then.

It was a rather misshapen specimen of evergreen but the scent of it was wonderful, filling the flat with freshness and memories of childhood Christmases. That is what had prompted him to head across to his parent's house on his way home from the supermarket, let himself in and liberate the box of decorations that his Mam kept in the top of the linen cupboard. She wouldn't mind. She wasn't exactly using them this year. He paused to think of her and Tad, out there in Australia with is sister and her new family. Did Australian's put up Christmas trees? He must ask when he phoned tomorrow.

Jamming the tree into a bucket he propped it in the corner of the room. It was taller than it looked and gouged a green track across the ceiling. He ignored that. Collecting the decoration box he opened it and cautiously pulled out a lifetime's worth of tat. He found the lights, they needed to go on first. The tinsel was tatty and god knows how old, but once he'd lifted that out he found treasure. There was the glitter star he'd made the last year before he went to high school, and Miff's stamped embossed picture frames, one for each of them that hung up with red ribbons. There were the flash glass balls that Mam treasured and Peter's godawful bead sculptures. Ianto sorted through the box, lost in a world of memories. He was sitting cradling a glass sculpture of a deer when he heard movement and looked up to see a bleary Jack standing in the doorway. He was smiling at him.

'I bought this for Tad once,' he said, holding out the deer, 'for his birthday. He said it was lovely but it was too fragile and he was afraid he'd break it and that I should keep it.' Ianto swallowed. 'I did. But when it was Christmas I wanted to put it on the tree, so Santa could see we where the sort of people that liked deer.' He grinned at Jack. 'It's lived in this box ever since, tossed around and with things all around it and on top of it. Look at it. It's perfect. Unbroken. Not fragile at all.' He grinned up at Jack. 'Why don't you go and have a shower and then you can help me decorate a tree.'

'I'm guessing,' Jack said quietly, 'the fact that you let me sleep till eleven in the morning means you've told the others we're not going to work?'

Ianto gave him a steady look. 'Yep.'

Jack just nodded. 'Any chance of breakfast? I'm ravenous.'

'How about brunch?'

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'How are you Jack?' Ianto asked as Jack mopped up syrup from his plate with the last of the pancakes. He'd eaten like he hadn't seen food in weeks. Ianto supposed eating had joined sleeping as something Jack hadn't been doing a lot of lately.

Jack peered up at him from under his fringe. 'Better,' he said after some consideration. He still had the ring on his finger.

'Good. I'm fine too,' he added. 'Thank you for asking.'

Jack grinned. 'I've been a bit of a prat haven't I?'

'Yep.'

Jack pushed his plate away and sat back with a sigh. 'That was good.' He twisted the ring unconsciously. 'Do you need me for this tree stuff? I've got something I want to do.'

'You're not going to work are you?'

'No. Definitely not.' Jack gave him one of the rare hundred watt grins. 'You'll be pleased about this I know.'

Ianto wasn't sure about that. 'And you're not going anywhere near the hub?'

'No.' Jack said, his fingers crossed behind his back.

'Will you be back for tea?'

'Oh, I'll be back long before then,' Jack said lasciviously. 'In fact if you were thinking of appetisers…'

Ianto was thinking what a difference a day made.

'Can I borrow your car?'

Ianto rolled his eyes. 'All right,' he said reluctantly. He looked at him suspiciously. 'You're not just taking the car so I won't drive anywhere and potentially have an accident.'

Jack looked surprised. 'I hadn't even thought of that,' he said honestly. 'But you will be careful won't you. Are those tree lights earthed?'

Ianto's eyebrows crawled under his hairline. 'Er. I think I can manage to decorate a Christmas tree without injuring myself. Are you safe to be let loose on the pre Christmas shoppers, that's what I want to know.'

'Who said I was going shopping?'

'And what else would you be doing?'

'I might be visiting my tailor.'

Ianto snorted.

'Or seeing a man about a dog.' His grin was starting to show.

Ianto leant across the table and kissed him, the first real kiss they'd had in weeks. He tasted of syrup. 'Mmm. Yum. I'm sure the tree, and the dog could wait a while.'

Jack smiled back at him but there was a slightly anxious look in his eyes. 'Nice idea.'

'But?'

'I'm sorry.' Jack caught his hand and held it. 'I like the thought…Can we…'

'Later?' Ianto asked gently.

'Thank you.'

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