Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter Seven

Jack Harkness stood in the living room that morning, facing the christmas tree, which he couldn't help but admire. It was the 2nd week of December, and just a day after their anniverary, he and Lily had decorated the whole house ready for Christmas.

If anybody had asked, Jack would have had to say it was all Lily's idea - after all, he had a reputation to uphold - but he knew very well that Christmas brought out his inner child, and in the privacy of his own home, he didn't mind showing it.

He glanced at the very expensive and very handsome wristwatch his wife had just bought him for the anniversary. They were getting ready to go to work, and he was waiting for her.

He heard her footsteps on the staircase moments later and expected her to pass the living room for the front door. He was about to turn back to the doorway when he felt warm and familiar arms thrown around his waist from behind.

He chuckled to himself as he felt her body pressed against his from behind, but he couldn't help but think she ought to be taller for this to work more comfortably.

Without turning around, he said, " Good morning, Mrs Harkness. "

" Morning Captain," she said, sounding very happy, " aren't you going to turn around and give your wife a kiss? "

Jack turned his head to the side and Lily stood on her toes, her chin trying to rest on his shoulder. He raised one eyebrow at her, " The wife's here? Oh dear, I was hoping to steal a few moments with this gorgeous little redhead. "

Lily giggled, " You're so silly. "

He gave a little murmur of agreement and turned around slowly to face her. He reached out to cup one cheek with his hand and leaned in to press a kiss to her lips. When they broke apart, Lily loosened her arms around him, and he took hold of her hand.

" I suppose we should go to work, baby," he sighed.

" Suppose we should," she agreed, as they moved towards the hallway. She'd only just stepped over the threshold into the hallway when Jack pulled her back towards him.

He looked up, " You've got to obey the rules," he said.

She followed his line of vision to the ceiling and rolled her eyes, though she was amused when she saw the little sprig of mistletoe, " I thought you'd taken that down, after Owen, the other day. "

Jack smirked a little at the reminder. Tosh and Owen had been around for a few drinks a few evenings ago, after Lily and Tosh's want for some girl time had been hi-jacked by both Jack and Owen.

Jack's eagerness to hang mistletoe everywhere in the house had backfired when he and Owen both stood in the doorway of the living room, and Jack had planted a kiss straight on Owen's lips, much to Owen's disgust, Lily's great amusement and Tosh's confusion.

Looking at his wife currently, Jack shrugged, " I did take it down, but then I thought better of it and put it back up. It was too much fun not to put it back up. "

Lily rolled her eyes, " I should have known. "

Jack silenced her by leaning down and claiming a kiss and Lily opened her mouth to him. Their kiss because more passionate, as their kisses usually did, and it was just etting heated when Lily slowly broke away.

" Sorry kitten," she said, as Jack pouted, " we really have to get going. "

Jack sighed, " I hope the people of Cardiff know how much I give up to keep them safe every day. "

Lily shook her head at him, " Come on," she said, snatching her coat up off the coat rack before picking up the keys to the SUV and throwing them at him. He caught them easily and followed her out of the house.

As soon as they got into work, the phone started to ring, and Jack groaned as he started towards his office. Lily went to sit at her desk, and had only just sat down when the door rolled open again and Ianto strode in.

" Morning," Ianto said, walking past her desk and into the kitchen.

" Morning sweetie," Lily smiled as she turned on her computer, " oh hey, Jack's put that mistletoe up again over his office door, so watch what you're doing if you have to go in there. "

Ianto nodded, " Thanks for the warning. "

Moments later, the office door opened and Jack stood there, " Sighting of a suspicious looking character. Police have passed it staight onto us. I'm thinking blowfish. Get your coat. "

" Barely had chance to take it off," Lily replied, standing up.

She snatched her coat off the back of her chair and Ianto appeared from the kitchen, " Want me to come? "

Jack shook his head, " I think we'll be alright, the two of us. I'll be in touch if we need back up though. "

" Jack," Lily frowned, " you know they've got a habit of stealing sports cars. Maybe we should take back up. "

" We'll be fine," Jack shrugged, " Ianto, when Tosh comes in, see if she can get a trace on it for us. Come on Lily, I want to get this sorted fast, you know what they're like. "

" Yes boss," she replied with a smile, pulling her coat on and starting to button it up.

As she and Jack were leaving the hub, Gwen was on her way in.

" Got a case already? " she asked, as she waddled towards the door as best she could, given the size of her bump.

" Blowfish we think," Jack said.

" Anything I can do to help? " Gwen offered, to which Jack shook his head.

" Absolutely not," he said firmly, " at 36 weeks pregnant, the only thing I want you to do, is go in there, sit down and put your feet up. I told you, you shouldn't even still be around, given all the stress of this job. "

" Jack," Gwen sighed, shaking her head, " we've been through this time and time again. I'm leaving soon, giving all this up. We've got a little cottage on the beach, all out of the way, the quiet life. So I'm having my last few weeks here, while I can. "

They stared each other out, before Jack swallowed and nodded, " Fine. You're here, but stay behind your desk. Put up your feet. "

" There's no need to be so over-bearing," Gwen sighed, rolling her eyes

" It's not over-bearing, it's caring for my staff," Jack replied, " and there's every need. We won't be long. "

When Jack and Lily started off towards the SUV, Lily looked up at her husband, well aware that he didn't want Gwen to leave. As she looked at him, she saw the expression on his face was one of sadness and she reached out to take his hand.

" It's ok, you know," she said, " I know you're going to miss her, but it's going to be ok. "

" I can't imagine her not being around," Jack told her, " it'll be weird when she's gone. "

" We'll adjust," Lily said, " I agree it's a shame to lose someone who's such a good worker, but she and Rhy are doing what they think is best for their baby. After the 456, and getting hunted down by the government, I can't blame them for wanting to go and live in seclusion with their child. We can't blame them for doing what they think is best for their baby. "

" I know we can't blame them," Jack said, " they're ... they're keeping the baby safe. "

" Gwen's going to miss you, you know," Lily told him, " I know you feel sad she's leaving, but it's not personal. She really will miss you. "

Jack nodded silently, and when they got outside, he turned back to his wife. " Thank you," he said, leaning down and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

" Haven't done anything," she replied.

" Well, you know," shrugged Jack, tucking some of her hair behind her ear, " trying to make me feel better. I was thinking we could buy her something nice for the baby. Well, for the baby and because she's going away. "

Lily smiled, " That's a nice idea. Start thinking and I'll start thinking too. Now come on. Blowfish. "

It took them a long time to trackdown the blowfish, and when they had, they were forced to chase it along the main roads at brake-neck speed.

" God knows what the humans will think," Jack called out over the noise of the beeping horns, as he took control of the roads.

Lily shook her head, " Humans are pretty oblivious, they'll think we're idiots with a big car, chasing idiots in fancy dress. "

" Probably. "

" I told you we should have had back up," Lily scolded him, " there's two of them, and they've got a car. "

" It's going to be fine," Jack said, " I reckon they're going to try and give us the slip. I reckon they'll turn left ahead, try going down the backroads. Besides, Owen and Ianto are heading out in Ianto's car. We'll have back up soon. "

Lily watched ahead as the car the blowfish were driving suddenly took a left turn and Jack turned the SUV left so sharply that she thought it would tip over. Moments later, a sunroof opened on the car and one of the blowfish appeared from the top of it, shooting a gun at them.

Jack barked orders over the comms to Owen and Ianto, telling them where they were heading, and Lily heard from what they said, that they were nearby.

Lily pulled out her stungun and hoped she could stop them before they crashed ito someone and did some serious damage. She wound down her window and leaned out of it, training her gun on the blowfish that was currently trying to shoot at she and Jack.

" Be careful! " she heard Jack bellow from inside the SUV.

She laughed as she took her first shot and narrowly missed, " I'm no damsel in distress, Jack. "

His answer sounded suspiciously like "You're telling me" but she couldn't be sure and she took another shot, this one hitting the blowfish squarely in the chest and stunning it. It slumped backwards into the car and she quickly sat back down in the car.

" There," she said, putting her stun gun in her lap, " at least there's nothing shooting at us now. "

They took another sharp turn, and this time, Lily saw Ianto's car coming towards them and was relieved to see their back up. Owen - or at least, she assumed Owen would be driving, given the speed it was going at - suddenly pulled across sharply, and forced the blowfish car to stop.

Jack ground the SUV to a quick halt, and by the time Lily got out of it, the blowfish that wasn't stunned was trying to escape, only for Ianto to get a shot on it, and sent it sprawling to the ground.

Owen looked at Lily first, seeing Jack and Lily for the first time that day,

" Starting trouble early today, eh spacegirl? "

" Looks like it," she nodded, walking over to the blowfish and nudging it with her foot, satisfying herself that it was out cold. " Nice work, boys," she said, admiring Ianto's well aimed shot on the blowfish, and Owen's good parking to block him.

" What about me? " Jack asked, hands on his hips.

She rolled her eyes, " Yes, you too. Nice work Jack. "

He grinned, satisfied, " Thank you. Owen, Ianto get these bodies back into the back of the SUV. Get them disposed of in the usual way. " He touched his comms, " Toshiko, I need you to find out who a stolen car belongs to, registration S208 FWW. "

When Toshiko have given him a name and an address, and Owen and Ianto had gotten the bodies of the blowfish into the SUV - and thankfully they were down a back street where no-one could see anything that was going on - jack looked around at them all.

" Ok," he said, " Ianto, take your car back to the hub, dispose of the blowfish when you get there. Owen, take the SUV. I'll get this car back to its owner, maybe administer retcon if neccesary. Lily .. actually, you go with Owen. It'll take two of you with the blowfish in the back, in case they wake up. "

" Recieved and understood," Ianto nodded, taking his car keys from Owen's hand.

" See you soon," Lily said, taking the SUV keys from Jack and dangling them teasingly at Owen, " I'm driving. "

" Women drivers," Owen grumbled as he started towards the SUV.

Lily stuck her tongue out at his back, " Alien drivers. We're much worse. "

As she started walking towards the SUV, Jack reached out and took hold of her arm. He pressed his lips to her forehead lightly and brushed some of her hair away from her face, " I'll be back soon, baby. "

She drove back to the hub, and she and Owen only just beat Ianto back. The three of them had only just walked through the doors of the hub when Tosh called out, " Two missed calls, Lily. From Martha Jones. Or Martha Smith, should I say? "

Lily grinned and hurried to her desk, snatching up the phone.

" Brilliant," she said, " I tried ringing her a few times over the last few days but she's always so busy. She must have finally found a bit of spare time to get in touch with her old friend. "

Lily sat down in her desk chair and dialled the number.

" Hello? "

Lily grinned at the sound of Martha's voice, " Mrs Smith, how nice to finally get in touch with you. "

On the other end of the phone, she heard the very familiar laugh, " Mrs Harkness, you know how busy I get. Anyway, you're usually twice as bad as I am. "

" Well, you've got me there," Lily grinned, leaning back in her desk chair, " so, how are you? How's married life? "

" I'm good," Martha replied, sounding very happy, " it's brilliant, isn't it? Why didn't you ever tell me how great being married was? "

Lily laughed, " I didn't think I needed to tell anyone how happy Jack and I are. "

" How is Jack? " Martha asked.

Lily smirked, " You know Jack, he's always alright. Hub's all rebuilt, we've got ourselves a house. Life is good. And we're kind of living more like humans than ever before - can you imagine me with a house? "

" What must your dad think, eh? " Martha laughed.

" Oh, he's as proud of me as he ever is. He was here the other week - fascinated by the house," Lily sighed happily, " anyway, how are you fixed for Christmas? "

" Oh, we were planning a quiet one," Martha said, " just me and Mickey, you know? We've both managed to wrangle over a week off. "

Lily nodded, taking it into consideration, " D'you fancy coming to ours for New Years? We were thinking maybe you could come over a few days after christmas, stay until after the New Year. Jack's dying to show off the house, and we were going to have everyone over on New Years eve. "

" We'd love to come over," Martha replied instantly, " I'll check with Mickey, but he won't be getting much of a say. We're like a team, aren't we? Me, you and Jack. End of the world survivors. And Mickey would love to come and see Torchwood I think. "

" Brilliant," Lily said, " let's just hope he and Jack can get along, eh? "

" Oh they're bound to fall out a couple of times" Martha said in an offhand manner, " but don't worrry about them. We'd love to come over. Now, we're spending Christmas day alone, so I promised boxing day to my parents, so we could come over on the 27th? "

" That'd be great," Lily said, " I'll book the train for you. Well, I might have to ask Ianto to, still haven't gotten the hang of paying for stuff on the internet ... all those numbers on my card, you know? "

Martha laughed and replied, " So, how's your christmas shopping going? "

Lily grinned, " I've got almost everything now - it's not like I've got many people to buy for. Oh, I feel so domesticated ... so human. I'm even going to try wrapping stuff later on. Last year I was really lazy and put them in fancy looking bags. "

Martha giggled, " Mrs Harkness, don't tell me you can organise a team to fight aliens, but you can't use a roll of wrapping paper? "

" Well in my defence, there's not much call for wrapping paper in outer space," Lily said indignantly, though she couldn't stop smiling, " And people are only going to rip it off anyway. "

" Very insightful," Martha laughed, though the rest of her words were drowned out by a beeping on the line, " sorry Lily, other line. Hold on a sec. "

Lily waited patiently, fiddling with the phone cord, and a few moments later, Martha's voice sounded down the line again, " Lily? I'm really sorry, it's a work thing, and it's my boss - can't really wait. "

" Don't worry about it," Lily sighed, " I know how it is ... big job to do. Give us a ring next time you've got a bit of free time, and you've spoken to Mickey. "

Martha hummed a response, " Will do, thanks for the invitation, Lily. Give my love to the old flirt. "

" Absolutely, Martha. See you soon. "

When Lily had hung up, she smiled in satisfaction but then looked over at Tosh, who was busying typing something up. Owen walked up the steps from the medical bay with a report in his hand, and Ianto was setting a coffee down on Gwen's desk.

" Um, guys? " she asked.

They all looked at her, and she said, " I've told you that we want you to come over for New Years, haven't I? "

They all looked blank, and Tosh said, " No, you haven't. "

" Oh," Lily nodded, " right. Well you're all invited over on New Years eve. Unless you've got other plans, I guess, but - "

" But none of us do, because we're hardly leading fascinating lives," Owen replied.

" Your words, not mine," Lily shrugged.

" We'll be there," Tosh said, cutting across whatever retort Owen had saved up. Owen allowed himself to smile as he walked over to Lily, " Yeah, we will," he said, holding out a report to her, " I'm putting the blowfish in the 10th and 11th cyro chambers, but I need a signature, and since Jack's not around - "

" Yeah, I'll do it," Lily said.

She'd scrawled a messy signature across the bottom of the page when the doors opened and Jack walked in. " All sorted," he said.

Lily nodded, " Good. All sorted our end too. Martha just rung, by the way, so it looks like they're coming over on the 27th. She sends her love, too. "

Jack nodded, coming to sit on the end of her desk, " Good. I like it when Martha's around. "

" I know," she mumbled, " I can't wait to see how many times you wind Mickey up. "

Jack took hold of her hand, " I'll be on my best behaviour. " When she raised her eyebrows to challenge the statement, he added, " I promise. "

" If you say so," she grinned, as he interlocked his fingers with hers. Her eyes fell on the thick gold band sitting on his left ring finger, and she couldn't help but smile at it, as always.

" When we get home," Lily told him, " you can stay out of the bedroom. I'm wrapping some stuff up, and you're not allowed in, because it'll ruin the surprise. "

" Recieved and understood," Jack nodded, " but you don't have to go to a lot of fuss. I'll be happy with anything, as long as it comes with a nice big hug and maybe a kiss too. "

" I think I can stretch to that," she grinned.

Jack nodded and tucked some of her hair behind her ear, allowing the backs of his fingers to graze her cheek, while the rest of the staff got on with their work behind them. " You are so going to love me when you see what I've got for you. "

" Really? " Lily grinned, the spark in her eye making Jack's heart swell with pride when he thought of the look on her face

" Really," Jack said squeezing her hand, " you're going to so love me. "

Lily smiled at him, " More than I already do? "

" Much more," he replied, leaning down to take her into a kiss.