Happy Christmas Eve :) Either one more chapter or 2 more chapters of this, depending on how many reviews I have by midnight :) Am going to miss this fic so much, had so much fun writing it, but don't worry, I have got some more Harry/Nikki/Josi fics planned, but I need to wrap up my Lighthouse series so Harry and Nikki can be a nice happy family again first, and finish the Obsession and Salty Tears. So keep a look out :) Thanks to Lizzi and Mollylou for reviewing- Mollylou, yes, this does follow on from my lighthouse series if you've read that, though it's obviously readable on its own. So in answer to your question… I'm not going to tell you, sorry! But I will update Conclusions in Cape Town soon, so you can find out :)

Christmas Day chapter is on its way :)

Love Flossie xxx

Tuesday 24th December 2019

-Joycelin's Diary

-9.08am

Hmm, this doesn't feel much like my bed. Is ever-so slightly lumpy and not very wide, plus doesn't appear to come with pillow. Or duvet. Very strange, don't quite understand. Might force self to open eyes in a minute and investigate.

-9.10am

Ohhh, all OK now, remember where I am. Am on sofa in Auntie Sara's daughter Zaretta's room; came to crash out here at quarter to eleven last night when Mummy and Daddy said it was very late and we were probably going to crash at Auntie Sara and Uncle Pieter's for the night, so I might as well go and find a nice quiet sofa to crash on. Wasn't totally unexpected, thought this might happen, so resourcefully brought pyjamas, wash bag, change of clothes and Ollie the elephant over to party yesterday afternoon, just in case. Will be able to change into nice clean clothes and emerge from sleep looking very refreshed, unlike Mummy and Daddy and definitely unlike Nana, who had near-repeat performance of Cunningham family legend that is her fall into Sara and Pieter's swimming pool at 2014 New Year party. Except this year was not swimming pool, was flower bed. Think Daddy has pictures, will be taking them in to school for show and tell next term if so. Was comedy gold, almost as good as Gavin and Stacey. Almost.

-9.13am

Hmm, Zaretta still asleep, think will go and get changed in bathroom and then go and search kitchen for breakfast. Might make myself coffee if no adults around, have always wanted to try it. Jasper says is disgusting at first, but if you add between 5 and 7 spoonfuls of sugar then it's actually quite nice, like Thornton's cappuccino truffles, only better. Not sure whether I believe him or not, can't imagine anything tasting better than Thornton's cappuccino truffles. Except for strawberry marshmallow ice cream.

-9.21am

Looks like won't be trying coffee after all, think can see someone tall in kitchen. Still in pyjamas, and downing large glass of water. What is it with adults and water the morning after parties? Is second time have observed this in less than a month, will have to ask.

-9.22am

"Morning, Auntie Sara!" Hmm, her face looks very grey, not just slightly grey like Mummy's was after office Christmas party. And a little bit green. "Are you alright? You don't look very well."

"Oh, morning, darling. No, I'm fine, don't worry about me, I just need some more water and then I'll be fine."

"Oh, OK. Can I ask you a question? Why do adults always drink so many glasses of water the morning after a party?"

"Because it helps with the hangover. Do you know what a hangover is?"

"Umm, I think so. Daddy says it's the worst headache imaginable, like someone's trying to force your skull apart. And it's brought on by drinking too much wine and champagne and cherry and gin and toner and stuff like that. Which I don't understand, because if drinking all those things always gives you a… a… hangover the next morning and means you have to drink lots and lots of water, then why don't you just drink pink lemonade, and put a tiny, tiny bit of vodka in it just covering the bottom of the tumbler, like you did with mine yesterday. It'd be much easier in the long run."

"Ja, that's true. Well… well… I don't know why we all do it, actually Josi, that's quite a good question. Because it helps you to relax and have a good time, I guess."

"But how much of it can you actually remember this morning? Because that's exactly what Nana told me, but when I asked her what was so great about the party she went to last, she said she couldn't really remember much of it."

"Hey, I can remember everything I did last night, thank you! Like how beautifully you played the violin, and… well… I remember dancing round the Christmas tree with your mum, and…"

"And?"

"Fine, so I can't remember much of it at the moment. But it'll all come back to me by lunchtime, you'll see!"

"Really?"

"Yep. Right, do you want some breakfast?"

"Erm…" Not really sure if want food that much, think breakfast is probably going to be cold pizza from last night. Then again, am quite hungry, maybe cold pizza wouldn't be so bad after all. As long as it's Hawaiian. "Yes please. Auntie Sara?"

"Hmm?"

"You know the reindeer? Do you think they'd prefer me to leave them water or lucozade on the doorstep? Because I was just going to leave out a bowl of water for them, but then I thought last night, perhaps lucozade would be better, because if you think about it, Cape Town is right on the far side of South Africa, so after they've dropped off my presents they've still got to fly across the rest of the country before they can get back into the TARDIS and travel back in time so they can deliver Christmas presents in… I don't know, the Congo."

"The TARDIS?" Auntie Sara suddenly looks very confused, weird.

"Ja, you know, the Doctor's TARDIS. Mummy said that the Doctor helps Santa and the reindeer to get presents to everyone in the world by picking them up after they've finished a country and then taking them backwards in time, so they can get it all done before Christmas morning."

"Oh, of course, sorry darling. So…?"

"So, considering that Cape Town is probably going to be one of the first places the reindeer go in South Africa, do you think it would be best for me to give them a bowl of lucozade? Because that would give them a really good energy boost, and reduce the chances of them passing out from overheating over the elephant reserve."

"Oh, I see. Well, that's a very good thought, Josi, but I think it's probably best to stick to water, all the E numbers in the lucozade might make the reindeer a little bit hyper and difficult to control."

True, hadn't thought of that.

"OK then, I'll stick to carrots and water." Ohhh, hang on, she's suddenly gone from grey to a very definite shade of green, really doesn't look good. "Auntie Sara…?"

"One second, I'm coming back!"

-9.29am

Hmmm, she looks a bit better now, though still grey. Think it might be alcohol related, though probably best not to ask.

"Are you alright?"

"Hmm? I'm fine, don't worry, I just need…"

"Some water?" Adults are so predictable.

"Thanks. Josi darling, you wouldn't mind doing me a favour and taking a glass of water down to the shed, would you?"

"The shed?" Think the hang-off think might have made her go just a little bit mad. "Why do you need me to take a glass of water down to the shed?"

"Because Pieter's parents had a blazing row at about 3 in the morning and it ended with Claudia kicking Christiaan out around 3.30. Apparently he ended up sleeping in the shed. Don't worry, though, he's used to it, does it all the time at home. And the outdoor heater's in there, so if he got cold he could stick that one. It's fine. They'll be all over each other again by lunchtime. I think Christiaan would appreciate a nice glass of water and a coffee though, don't you think?"

Really don't understand adults sometimes.

-9.56am

"Mummy? Mummy, Daddy!" Have finally located them, were crashed out on sofa bed in attic. Could be worse, found Nana in the bathtub. "Come on, wake up, it's almost 10 in the morning!"

"Is it?" Oops, both look quite tired, perhaps should have left them a bit longer.

"Yep. Come on, it's Christmas Eve! Auntie Sara's doing breakfast and then I think we're having a mass game of charades. And then I'm on kebab duty."

"Kebabs?"

"Yes, Daddy, kebabs. We're sticking the vegetables on kebab sticks, because apparently everyone in South Africa braais Christmas dinner, you know, on the barbeque, and you can't just put vegetables on a braai, because they'd fall through the gaps and turn to charcoal at the bottom. So we're going to stick them on kebabs, and then once we've done that we're all going to play charades."

-3.29pm

"OK, so let me see if I've got this right." Think either Uncle Pieter is slowly going mad or am hearing things. Maybe he had too much wine last night like Auntie Sara and Mummy and Daddy and Nana… pretty much all the adults.

"So on New Year's Eve, a… a week today…"

"Ja…"

"… you want me to go around your house and locate all the cigarette packets I can, and all the lighters and tobacco and smoking-related stuff, and then you want me to search the garden for ashtrays…"

"Ja, that's right…"

"…and then you want me to put it all in a great big bin bag and take it back to Ouma's with me and throw it out?"

"Yep, you've got it. So can you do that for me?"

"Yes, if you want. But why…?"

"Because your Auntie Sara's been trying to persuade me to give up for years, and it's horrible for your health, and I've decided I do want to actually live to have grandchildren."

"Oh, OK. So… so why did you start, then?" Surely if smoking's really that bad for you, then no one would take it up?

"Because I was 15 and I thought it was cool. But you're not going to be that stupid when you're 15, are you? You're going to stay away from drugs and poison and…"

"Poison?"

"Well, tobacco's effectively poison, really. Which is why I'm giving it up."

"OK. But… but… but cigarettes are really addictive, aren't they? So won't it be really difficult to just stop suddenly?"

"Probably. But you're going to do that for me, aren't you, you're going to remove the temptation for me?"

"OK. But you do realize you could just go and buy a packet from the nice man at the corner shop? I don't think he's going to just not sell them to you if you ask him nicely in advance, is he? There's a credit crunch on, after all."

-8.03pm

"Jenna?" Almost bedtime, need to finish sorting out food for the reindeer before get herded into bed by parents. "Jenna, how many reindeer are there?" Have decided between us to give each reindeer their own bowl or water and carrot, to avoid reindeer rivalry.

"Umm, 7 I think. Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet and Cupid."

"What about Bambi?"

"Jacob, Bambi's not a reindeer, he's a normal deer!"

"So? He might come along for the ride."

"Well, if he does then he's going to have to share with one of the reindeer, because I can only find 7 bowls in the cupboard. I think the rest are in the dishwasher."

"OK then. Do you think we should cut the carrots up into little pieces, or will they manage?"

"I expect they'll manage. Come on, we need to go and put these on the doorstep before the grown-ups realize how many bowls we've used and go into melt-down."

-8.34pm

"Right, come on Josi, into bed." Hmm, not fair, Grandma and Granddad haven't started trying to get Jenna and Jasper into bed yet. Even Jacob hasn't gone to bed yet, and he's 2 years younger than me. And about 2 inches taller.

"Mummy, do I have to?"

"Yep, come on. Santa won't be able to come and deliver your presents if you're not asleep by 9."

"9?"

"Yep, I think that's the time he's due in Cape Town, isn't that right, Daddy?"

"Um Hmm. Right, bed, now. Go. And you've hung your stocking in the lounge, yes?"

"Yep, but there isn't a fireplace, so it's over the door handle. Daddy, how is Santa going to get in if there's no chimney?" Am a little bit worried about that, if he finds it too hard he might not bother.

"I expect he'll get the doctor to land the TARDIS in the kitchen if it comes to it. Right, I'm turning the lights off in 5 minutes, OK? That should give your cousins enough time to get into bed."

Hmph, not fair. "OK then. But only if you promise they'll be in bed when the lights go out."

"Yep, I promise, darling. LEO, CAN YOU HURRY UP AND GET YOUR KIDS IN BED? Right, night then. Love you. We'll see you in the morning, OK? Sometime after 7.30 would be nice."

-11.09pm

"Joycelin! Joycelin! Joycelin?"

Urgh, tired, what's so urgent that it can't wait until morning? Don't even know who it is… actually, think might be Jasper.

"Joycelin, look, it's Santa's sleigh!"

"Hmm?" Ohhh, exciting, don't want to miss seeing Santa's sleigh just because was tired when it flew over Ouma's house. "Where?"

"Out the window! Come on, look?"

"Jasper, isn't that an airplane?"

"What? No, course it's not! Airplanes aren't that long, and they don't have that many lights on them, do they? It's definitely Santa's sleigh. Either that, or it's a shooting star, and that's still really cool."

"True. I know, shall we go and see if the carrots have been eaten?"

"No, probably best not to. We might see Santa, and then he'd have to run away really quickly and wipe our memories with that redcom stuff from Torchwood and not give us any presents, so we wouldn't do it again."

"I suppose. Oh well. We might as well just go back to sleep, you know, we can't do anything until morning."

"We could go and play murder in the dark in the lounge?"

"No we can't, your mum and dad and my Nana are asleep in there, remember? Face it, we're going to have to go back to sleep."

"Or we could play Mario cart?"

Ohhh, brilliant idea, Jasper is genius.

"OK, but only one round. Otherwise we'll be really tired tomorrow and we might fall asleep before 20 way cluedo."

"You can play 20 way cluedo?"

"Apparently, that's what Mummy said. Though I think she and Auntie Sara had to redesign the board and come up with new playing cards. When I suggested a tazer gun as one of the weapons, she shook her head and said something about it being a sign of the times. What is a sign of the times?"

"No idea. We'll ask tomorrow."